The Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee (SNTIC) met yesterday (Monday) to explore potential sites for a new stadium to be constructed for NFL American football franchise, the Oakland Raiders.
The ESPN website reported that the venue could cost as much as $2.1bn to build – a significant increase on the previous estimated budget of $1.4bn. The increase is reportedly down to a new retractable dome being included in the latest plans.
Raiders owner Mark Davis in April signalled his intention to relocate the club from Oakland, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis at the time pledged to donate $500m towards the construction of a new 65,000-capacity venue.
The Raiders will spend the 2016 NFL season at O.Co Coliseum, its home since 1995, after signing a one-year lease extension in February. The agreement includes the option for further extensions in 2017 and 2018.
Any relocation of the club would not take place before 2020, and would require the approval of owners of 23 NFL clubs.
According to ESPN, the nine sites discussed by the SNTIC include a 42-acre site on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), owns the site.
Other areas include a 65-acre patch of land on the UNLV canvas, a 100-acre patch on Tropicana Avenue, a 47-acre site on Las Vegas Boulevard, a 35-acre site on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, and a 50-acre site where the Cashman Field baseball ground is currently located.
Further potential homes include a 62-acre site close to Mandalay Bay, a 139-acre site on the Wynn Golf Club, and a 27-acre site on Las Vegas Boulevard, the former home of the Wet ‘n’ Wild water park.
