In an effort to secure a new stadium, and to keep the heat on city officials in their hometown, the Oakland Raiders are actively scouting new locations, and the most intriguing one mentioned this week is Las Vegas.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Las Vegas Sands Corp. is leading a group of investors that are offering to build a $1 billion domed stadium on 42 acres of land near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. The dome will become the home for UNLV's football team and could accommodate an NFL team, too.
Raiders owner Mark Davis reportedly will meet with Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson on Friday to discuss the dome project. For the stadium to be worth constructing, it will need to have at least 65,000 seats.
"We are moving forward with the stadium concept with or without an NFL team," said Andy Abboud, Las Vegas Sands' SVP of Government Relations and Community Development, to the Review-Journal. "We see a lot more opportunities—conference championships, bowl games, NFL exhibition football, boxing, soccer, neutral site games, and music festivals. There is an entire segment out there."
O.co Coliseum in Oakland, current home of the Raiders. Photo: BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons.
The Raiders do not control their potential move to Los Angeles. After the Rams moved to LA earlier this month, the Chargers received the option to move to the city and share a stadium with the Rams. The Chargers have one year to accept or decline the proposal. If they pass, then the Raiders can decide if they want to move in with the Rams.
Meanwhile, the Raiders are still engaged in a stand-off with Oakland, where the city is against giving public money for a new stadium to replace the decrepit O.co Coliseum. The Raiders have looked into moving to San Diego, assuming the Chargers move, and San Antonio.
A mid-sized metro, Las Vegas is one of the largest cities to not have a team in the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB. That could soon be changing: The T-Mobile Arena, a 20,000-seat venue located near the Las Vegas Strip, is expected to be completed within the next few months. The $375 million arena, funded by casino company MGM, will host UFC fights, boxing bouts, and concerts, but will also try to lure an NHL team.
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Rendering courtesy T-Mobile
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest institutional building design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Institutional Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Draft NIST report on Cowboys practice facility collapse released for public comment
A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those required under applicable design standards, according to a report released today for public comment by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
| Aug 11, 2010
Recreation facility scores with sustainable features
A new $79.1 million health and learning center is under construction on the Northern Arizona University campus in Flagstaff. The 270,000-sf facility will house recreation space, classrooms, health and counseling services, and the Lumberjack Stadium for track and soccer teams. Designed by the Phoenix office of OWP/P Cannon Design with Mortenson Construction as CM, the project is aiming for LEED ...
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.
| Aug 11, 2010
TCF Bank Stadium first new football stadium to get LEED certification
The University of Minnesota has received LEED Silver certification for its 50,805-seat TCF Bank Stadium, making it the first new football stadium in the country to achieve LEED status. Designed by Populous, Kansas City, Mo., the facility features a stormwater management system that captures and stores rainwater in an underground filtering system, where it is harvested, filtered, and drained int...
| Aug 11, 2010
Construction begins on Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame
Heavy construction and foundation work has started on the new Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum in Natchitoches, La. Designed by Trahan Architects, Baton Rouge, the $12 million, 28,000-sf museum will be clad in sinker cypress planks as a nod to the region’s rich timber legacy and to help control light, views, and ventilation throughout the facility.
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Green Building
27. Next-Generation Green Roofs Sprout up in New York New York is not particularly known for its green roofs, but two recent projects may put the Big Apple on the map. In spring 2010, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will debut one of the nation's first fully walkable green roofs. Located across from the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center's North Plaza, Illumination Lawn will consist ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Dream Fields, Lone Star Style
How important are athletic programs to U.S. school districts? Here's one leading indicator: In 2005, the National Football League sold 17 million tickets. That same year, America's high schools sold an estimated 225 million tickets to football games, according to the American Football Coaches Association.
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 University Report
University construction spending is 13% higher than a year ago—mostly for residence halls and infrastructure on public campuses—and is expected to slip less than 5% over the next two years. However, the value of starts dropped about 10% in recent months and will not return to the 2007–08 peak for about two years.
