After months of speculation, Sheldon Adelson confirmed he was backing out of the Raiders’ stadium deal in Los Vegas, Nevada. The casino billionaire announced on Monday in a statement that he “will no longer be involved in any facet of the stadium discussion.”
Aldelson had threatened to pull out of the deal in October because he did not approve of the terms offered by the Raiders. At the time, Aldeson said “They want so much. So I told my people, ‘Tell them I could live with the deal, I could live without the deal. Here’s the way it’s going to go down. If they don’t want it, bye-bye.'”
Adelson was expected to provide up to $650 million in funds to the $1.9 billion project. The Raiders and the NFL are scheduled to contribute $500 million, and a tax increase on Vegas hotels is expected to bring in the rest of the funds (around $750 million).
The Raiders said the team still plans to move operations to Los Vegas.
The team said in a statement, “The Raiders deeply appreciate the efforts of the Adelson family to bring the Raiders to Las Vegas. We know this project could not have advanced to that point without them. The Raiders remain steadfast in honoring Mark Davis’ commitment to Governor [Brian] Sandoval and the state of Nevada to pursue relocation in Las Vegas.”
Sandoval released his own statement, which reiterated the intent to contribute the pre-approved amount of $750 million to the project, and not a cent more.
“The terms of the legislation do not change and the state’s contribution will not increase as a result of this announcement,” said Sandoval, “I am hopeful that the Raiders are working to secure the additional funds that would have been provided by the Adelson family.”
The governor added that should the Raiders fail to close the funding gap, then the state might use their contribution to to build a stadium for UNLV.
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