As PFT and NBC reported weeks ago, the potential relocation of the Raiders to Las Vegas may ultimately occur without the involvement of Sands casino owner Sheldon Adelson.
At Wednesday’s joint meeting of the NFL’s finance and stadium committees, Steelers owner Art Rooney II confirmed on Wednesday that Adelson could be out of the mix.
“The Raiders are looking at the potential of doing [it] without Mr. Adelson if it comes down to that,” Rooney said, via Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal.
On both December 20 and December 12, PFT explained that Adelson has been driving a very hard bargain. There also has been an expectation that Adelson eventually will attempt to purchase a piece of the Raiders and/or seek a path to control of it. Raiders owner Mark Davis, who is intent on moving to Las Vegas, would find a replacement for Adelson, if he refuses to relent on various terms of a lease agreement for the Raiders at the new venue.
It may ultimately be multiple persons who replace Adelson with a significant private contribution toward the $2 billion venue. Nevada has passed legislation that will contribute $750 million in public money to the structure.
With no viable stadium proposal in Oakland, a move to Las Vegas is becoming more and more likely. The public acknowledge of the potential replacement of Adelson becomes the next tangible piece of proof that the wheels are in motion for the eventual rolling of the moving trucks to the south and the east.