Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is reportedly taking part in the effort to bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.
Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole broke the news over the weekend the Jones is working to find potential investors to help the AFC organization in filling the void left by Las Vegas Sands Corporation chairman Sheldon Adelson.
“Two NFL sources said Friday #Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is trying to gather investors to fill role Sheldon Adelson had in Vegas for #Raiders,” Cole tweeted.
Casino operator Las Vegas Sands had been wooing the NFL team to come to Sin City with the promise of building a 65,000-seat domed stadium near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The initial plan was for Adelson to shell out $650 million toward the stadium’s construction while the Raiders will commit $500 million. The remaining $750 million would be funded by a 0.88-percentage-point increase in Clark County’s hotel room tax.
Adelson, however, backed out of the $1.9-billion project, followed by Goldman Sachs, putting the Raiders relocation plans on shaky ground.
The Raiders have already filed their relocation paperwork with the NFL in January, putting them on available for a vote at the Annual League Meeting, scheduled from March 26 to 29 in Phoenix, where NFL’s 32 owners will meet to vote on the Raiders’ application to relocate. The Raiders need to receive approval from at least 24 of the 32 teams before they pack their bags and head to the desert.
Meanwhile, a Ronnie Lott-led group is also trying to keep the Raiders local.
Fortress Investment Group has sent the NFL and the Raiders a formal proposal to build a new stadium for the team. The proposal included details for a 55,000-seat stadium, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, in Alameda County. In it, Fortress Group’s investors would shell out $400 million for the stadium, while NFL and the Raiders would provide $500 million. The remaining $200 million would come from the city’s coffers.
