Las Vegas Stadium Authority Signs Lease With Raiders

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Las Vegas Stadium Authority has signed the final documents necessary to build the future home of the Raiders.

Team President Marc Badain and authority chairman Steve Hill signed the lease and development agreements on Wednesday for the $1.8 billion, 65,000-seat stadium that also will serve as home to the UNLV Rebels.

The two shook hands before Hill declared, "Let's build a stadium."

The move came a day after NFL owners voted 31-1 to approve the stadium plans and financing, including a $200 million loan from the league. The domed stadium is scheduled to be completed by Aug. 1, 2020.

The Raiders have said that the total cost of the move from Oakland to Las Vegas, including a training facility and headquarters, will top $2 billion.

The signing of the lease agreement — more than a year in the works — clears the way for the Clark County Commission to consider issuing construction bonds for the project. A total of $750 million in Clark County hotel room tax revenue will go toward the project.

As part of the deal, the 62-acre stadium site that the Raiders purchased last year for $77.5 million is scheduled to be transferred to the Stadium Authority on Friday.

The climate-controlled stadium where the team wants to kick off the 2020 season will feature 80-foot-tall retractable doors that will give fans a view of the casino-resorts on the Strip. Nevada officials expect 450,000 people a year to travel to Las Vegas primarily to attend an event at the venue, whether it's a Raiders or college football game, a concert or motorsports event.

Don Webb, an adviser to the Raiders, told the authority board last week that the stadium roof will be made of a polymer that will allow natural light in, and an exterior ribbon-like structure that will help push fresh air into the venue and exhaust out. He said the light transmitting portion of the roof is about 550 feet (167 meters) wide by 750 feet (228 meters) long.

The stadium will look black from outside during the daytime, but on the inside it will be transparent to the outside. At night, the lights inside the venue will be visible from outside.