County commissioner says Raiders not likely to play in Sam Boyd Stadium

Steve Sisolak answered the phone and a shiver ran down his spine.

At about 8 a.m. Thursday, after 19 months and countless hours spent trying bring an NFL franchise to the Las Vegas Valley, the Clark County commissioner got the news.

Oakland Raiders president Marc Badain said the team had filed relocation paperwork to move to Las Vegas. The official announcement broke soon after, and Sisolak’s phone kept ringing.

“There’s probably not a media outlet that I have not spoken to today,” Sisolak said Thursday, recalling interviews with ESPN, Fox Sports and all the major national news networks. “I think it’s kind of settling in to some folks that this could really happen.”

Sisolak said he doesn’t expect ground to be broken for a stadium for at least another year. He doesn’t foresee the Raiders playing in Las Vegas until it is built, unless for an exhibition game.

“Sam Boyd Stadium is not suitable for NFL games,” he said in an interview with the Review-Journal. “The capacity is too low. The infrastructure is too old. It’s not up to current standards in terms of television, which is extremely important in the NFL.”

And before Sisolak adds another ceremonial groundbreaking shovel to the collection of 15 in his office, a mountain of work must be completed. The envisioned $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed NFL stadium still needs a private financier to pay $650 million for the development deal.

The family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson has been the frontrunner for that position, but a deal has not been reached. The family and Raiders executives are discussing details from stadium naming rights to parking revenue and locker-room design.

Goldman Sachs is committed to financing the proposed stadium if a deal is not reached with the Adelson family.

Sisolak said he spoke with representatives of the Adelsons on Thursday, and the family is continuing to meet with the Raiders to try to reach an agreement.

“Hopefully they’ll be part of punching it in the end zone,” Sisolak said. “I would prefer to have somebody with a Las Vegas address as the developing partner. They know this community, and they know what the community wants and what the community needs. I think it would be a better synergy.”

Three-fourths of NFL team owners (24 of 32) must vote in approval of the move before it is official, and a site for the stadium has not been chosen.

Sisolak is not part of that process, but said his preferred site is the Bali Hai Golf Club because its location on Las Vegas Boulevard would put the stadium behind the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.

“The sign is so iconic, it’s seen all over the world,” he said. “The idea of having the stadium in the background of millions, tens of millions of pictures that are taken every single year at that Las Vegas sign is huge to me.”

After those details are ironed out, county staff can expedite the permitting process for the stadium if the development team is willing to pay extra, Sisolak said.

Sisolak said he attributes the NHL coming to Vegas as paving the way for an NFL team to consider coming here. The Vegas Golden Knights are scheduled to begin play in the 2017- 18 NHL season.

“That changed the landscape forever,” he said. “We owe our thanks to (team owner) Bill Foley and the Golden Knights.”

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477- 3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.