Silverman: Raiders Sorely Miss Al Davis In Troubled Vegas Pursuit
By Steve Silverman
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As the sports world prepares to hunker down and watch Super Bowl LI, the Oakland Raiders' future home is starting to look a lot like their current home.
In the space of a couple of days, Mark Davis learned that the money man in his proposed move to Las Vegas and the key financing institution behind the move had both pulled out of the deal.
Casino owner Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas billionaire who had thrown his considerable influence behind the move to the desert, pulled out earlier this week when he learned that Davis had submitted a detailed stadium proposal to the Stadium Authority that did not mention Adelson's name and called for the team to pay $1 per year in rent to the state.
As a result of Adelson's move, banking giant Goldman Sachs pulled out the next day. There is no indication that Adelson directly pulled any strings to make that happen, but insiders report that the institution did not want to be left holding the bag on a shaky operation that did not include the Las Vegas magnate, who is said to be worth $30 billion.
Adelson had pledged $650 million to help get the stadium built, while the state of Nevada was supposed to deliver $750 million from a hotel tax increase to help get the 65,000-seat domed stadium built. Davis was reportedly on the hook for $500 million in the proposed deal.
The state of Nevada has said that it could divert the money that was going to the Raiders to other causes if the deal falls apart.
This is just the kind of move that the late Al Davis would have been able to pull off in the slickest of fashions. Unfortunately for the Raiders, the deal is now hanging by a thread.
The NFL had said it would take up the Raiders' move to Las Vegas at its March meetings, but the latest developments may addressing the situation moot.
The Raiders and their money man had been negotiating on a division of stadium revenue and reportedly had been getting close to an agreement. However, when the team cut him out as it submitted its formal proposal to the state of Nevada, Adelson decided to skate away.
Now Davis must have to scramble to find a new financier, and that is not likely to go well. Even if he can find a new billionaire backer, neither the state nor the NFL is likely to look at any new deal favorably.
Davis' father was one of the most influential leaders in the history of professional football. He had worked his way up from assistant coach of the Los Angeles Chargers under Sid Gillman before becoming the managing general partner of the Raiders.
During the mid-1960s, Al Davis was named the commissioner of the American Football League, and he vowed to lead the fledgling operation to a victory over the NFL in its battle to gain superstar players. Davis was incredibly aggressive, and his presence forced the NFL to end the costly battle by merging with the upstart league.
That, of course, gave rise to the Super Bowl, and while the merger likely would have happened eventually, Al Davis's presence made it happen sooner.
Al Davis was almost always two steps ahead of the competition when he was in his prime. His later years were not as productive, but his combative and successful style made him one of the game's giants. Davis died in 2011.
His son does not appear to have the same foresight or deal-making capabilities. Whether the Raiders stay in Oakland, move to Las Vegas, or move elsewhere, Mark Davis will likely have to dance to someone else's tune and not get everything he wants.
That's just the opposite of his father, who could manipulate the system in his favor on nearly every occasion.
Oh, and by the way, I say Patriots 38, Falcons 27, for those who are interested in this weekend's football game.
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