Nevada legislature clears the way for Raiders to move to Las Vegas

The Raiders moved one step closer to Las Vegas on Friday as the Nevada legislature passed the stadium bill 28-13.

A cadre of lobbyists for the project worked hard to firm up enough of the shaky votes to meet the necessary two-thirds threshold and scraped by with the minimum amount of support Friday when lawmakers called for a quick vote without the customary speeches. 

An amended version of State Bill 1 was sent back to the Nevada Senate, which approved the original version 16-5 on Tuesday. Once the Senate approves the amended version, it's expected to be signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval on Monday. The last hurdle would be getting three-quarters of the NFL's owners to approve the Raiders' move from Oakland. A vote could come as soon as January.

"I would like to thank Governor Sandoval, the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, and the members of the Nevada Legislature on this historic day, " Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. "All parties have worked extremely hard to develop and approve this tremendous stadium project that will serve as a proud new home for the entire Raider Nation."

The stadium bill raises taxes on hotel rooms to help finance the $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium, which also would be home to the UNLV football team. Davis has pledged $500 million to it and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson $650 million, with the state pledging to raise a record $750 million in public funds.

Proponents say the plan to draw the Raiders from Oakland will bring 25,000 construction jobs and 14,000 permanent jobs to the Las Vegas area and help take the region's all-important tourism industry to the next level. Opponents complained that the deal gave money to a project backed by Adelson, who could afford to pay for the whole thing himself.

Critics also complained that the rushed deal, which is happening in an abbreviated special session rather than the four-month regular session next spring, was applying new tax revenue to a stadium instead of reserving it to alleviate an anticipated state budget shortfall.

The public contribution will be larger in raw dollars than for any other NFL stadium, although the public's share of the costs, 39 percent, is smaller than for stadiums in cities of a similar size, such as Indianapolis, Cleveland and Cincinnati.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed a desire to keep the Raiders in Oakland, and Mayor Libby Schaaf told reporters this week, “I’ll make sure the Raiders have a viable and responsible option for staying in Oakland."

A representative of former San Francisco 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo reportedly met with Oakland officials this week. So far, the mayor and other local officials have balked at committing public money to a new stadium.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.