Clark County Commission OK's $750M In Bonds For Raiders Stadium

LAS VEGAS, NV - The Clark County Board of Commissioners approved a Bond Ordinance allowing for $750 million to construct the future home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The approval came in a 6-1 vote, with Chris Giunchigliani the only commissioner to vote against the sale of the bonds.

The Commission adopted the ordinance as if it were an emergency, requiring at least five "yes" votes for approval. Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak called the stadium "an enormous shot in the arm for our economy," and said he expects the county's education system to benefit to the tune of $12 to $15 million annually from the project. He even challenged the incoming NFL franchise to match the first-season success of the Vegas Golden Knights, who clinched the Pacific Division title of the NHL's Western Conference last Saturday.

Professional sports are now a thing in Las Vegas. Even Giunchigliani, who voted against approving the public money, said bringing an NFL franchise to Las Vegas will be good for the city.

"This public subsidy, our priorities are just out of whack as far as I'm concerned," said Giunchigliani, who is running against Sisolak in a Democratic primary for Nevada's 2018 governor race. She said $750 million shouldn't be given out to "millionaires" while "poor people are paying a room tax that live up on Boulder Highway."

Giunchigliani said she would have rather seen the money come from revenue bonds, rather than general obligation bonds. She also pointed out that the Golden Knights franchise didn't seek public money, nor did the developers of the Madison Square Garden Las Vegas Sphere, that is expected to open in 2020, the same year as the Las Vegas Stadium is expected to be completed.

"Hopefully it will be successful, I've said that all along," she said. "As much as I want this, and I want the jobs and the opportunities, it's just not good public policy."

Commissioner Larry Brown praised the public process that went into approving the stadium and the money that will go into building it.

"This has gone through not only a very public process," Brown said. "The raiders and the Stadium Authority have been very transparent. The Legislature had their opportunities, whether you agree or disagree with the final decision, there were thousands of hours put into this entire process"

Brown added that bringing an NFL franchise to Las Vegas will be valuable to the city, and said the county made sure to protect their own interests throughout the process.

"It's a good thing for Las Vegas, and I am 110 percent supportive of this, primarily because of the effort the county has put into protecting our own," Brown said.

Construction is underway at the $1.9 billion stadium site on the Las Vegas Strip. The website of the Raiders franchise has a live stream of construction activity. To monitor what's happening at the construction site, click here.

To read the ordinance the Commission approved, click here.