Room-tax revenue for Las Vegas Raiders stadium ahead of projections

The money has begun rolling in for the Raiders’ planned stadium in Las Vegas with room-tax revenue specifically allocated to pay off stadium construction bonds running about 25 percent ahead of projections.

Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak tweeted earlier this week that revenue attributed to the 0.88 percentage-point increase in the room tax authorized by Senate Bill 1 generated $4.6 million in March, the first month the increase was in effect.

Projections calculated by the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee of which Sisolak was a member forecast monthly revenue of about $3.7 million when it was studied last year.

The higher room-tax rate kicked in March 1. Sisolak said tax revenue data usually isn’t widely reported but he was curious about the amount because of the wide interest the stadium project has generated.

Personal seat licenses stir interest

The team announced the day after NFL owners approved the team’s relocation to Las Vegas on March 27 that it would begin accepting deposits on personal seat licenses for tickets at the Las Vegas stadium.

Raiders President Marc Badain on Thursday confirmed that the Raiders took about 23,000 $100 deposits on the first day they were available and the total now is “north of 40,000.”

Badain stressed that the numbers were for deposits, not ticket sales, since each PSL could be applied toward multiple tickets. The team hasn’t announced final prices for licenses or season tickets but when the Minnesota Vikings opened its new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis last year, licenses ranged from $500 to $10,000.

Revenue generated by PSLs will be applied toward the Raiders’ $1.15 billion financial contribution for construction of a 65,000-seat domed stadium with an estimated price of $1.9 billion.

Badain said PSL deposits have come from residents of Nevada and surrounding states and from as far away as Canada, Mexico, Hawaii and Australia. He said the blend of sources fulfills some of the tourism strategy state officials set out to accomplish by approving the stadium.

Lease review

Badain made his remarks during and after Thursday’s Las Vegas Stadium Authority board meeting, the first since the team was approved for relocation to Las Vegas. Board members spent most of the meeting getting details on the second public draft of a stadium lease agreement between the Raiders and the authority.

Badain and authority chairman Steve Hill said most of the agreement is complete, but there are still some unresolved issues that have to be considered, including a sublease to UNLV giving its football team access to the stadium.

The 65-page document, which has at least 20 more pages of exhibits, spells out everything from who is responsible for maintenance and upkeep to necessary insurance requirements.

Key sections of the document include what the Raiders will pay in rent — nothing, because the authority can’t accept any without jeopardizing the tax-free status of the bonds — and conditions on the naming rights of the building, which will generate revenue for the team.

Hill has said the public benefits from the stadium’s presence by providing hundreds of new jobs, tax revenue generated by those new employees and establishing a new football venue for UNLV without capital investment.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.