The Oakland Raiders and UNLV are still honing the details of an agreement that would allow the entities to share a new Las Vegas stadium.
In addition to luring the Raiders to Las Vegas, one of the key points of the plan for the new stadium is to provide UNLV with a modern facility. The university has sought to bolster its football program by leaving Sam Boyd Stadium–its current venue that opened in 1971–and moving into the new stadium that is set to open in 2020.
An arrangement between the Raiders and UNLV that outlines how the two sides would share the facility still needs to be finalized, amidst other other details that must be worked out by the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority. Of late, the Raiders have made some progress on the move, securing NFL approval of their lease agreement for the stadium late last month.
Attention to their arrangement with UNLV will be given on Thursday, when the stadium authority will discuss the UNLV Joint Use Agreement. Thus far, discussions between UNLV and the Raiders are being described as preliminary, but positive. More from The Las Vegas Sun:
Gerry Bomotti, UNLV senior vice president for finance and business, characterized discussions with the Raiders as preliminary.
“We’ve only had an initial discussion, and I think it was positive,” Bomotti said. “But certainly over the course of the next couple of months, I would expect a lot of meetings and discussions.”
The Raiders delayed additional talks with the university so they could focus on completing their stadium lease agreement with the Stadium Authority. The team’s relocation application to the NFL received approval with the condition that the lease be finished in time for league owners to bless it at their May meetings in Chicago. With the lease out of the way, an agreement with UNLV reemerges as a top priority for the team.
UNLV’s priority in negotiations will be ensuring a home-field advantage in a facility where the Raiders will enjoy primary tenancy, Bomotti said. That includes field markings in UNLV colors, game-day control of video boards for sponsors and marketing, and use of luxury suites and club seating to accommodate the university’s athletics donor base.
The stadium is expected to seat 65,000 fans for Raiders games. The capacity could be lowered for UNLV games, but more exact details should emerge during the negotiation process.
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