All four Raiders Las Vegas stadium sites have potential deal breakers

The SNTIC will hold its next meeting in Las Vegas July 11. Among the things that will be discussed are the sites where the proposed football stadium would be built along with whether funding will be approved. Mark Davis has said that if his funding proposal is approved, he will commit to moving the Raiders there. Finding a stadium site is key point in approved.

At this point, they have narrowed down the list of options to four potential locations. But it isn’t simply a matter of picking the best of four great options. Each site has issues that could prove problematic.

The four sites being weighed at the moment are Tropicana Avenue, Old Riviera Hotel, Rock in Rio site, and Cashman Field. According to a piece in the Las Vegas Review-Journal each site has pros and cons.

The Tropicana site would appear to be the top option on the surface. With UNLV also playing in the stadium, its close proximity to campus is ideal. Its location could also make it a non-option due to its proximity to McCarran International Airport — it’s right across the street — due to potential FAA violations. Even if the FAA doesn’t rule it out, there’s still a matter of what is being estimated at around $200 million in infrastructure costs to connect to I-15.

The next option could be the site of the now imploded Riviera Hotel and Casino. The issue here is its where the convention center expansion is supposed to happen. The opponents to the stadium are already not happy with the idea of tax money being shifted away from the convention center. Losing the site upon which the expansion was to happen would only strengthen that opposition.

The Rock in Rio festival grounds would require a lot of work to try and avoid major problems with ingress and egress – aspects Mark Davis has long said is important to him as the Oakland site is ideal in that regard. Add to that the projected cost of as much as $200 million to purchase the land and that site becomes quite expensive. Likely exceeding the amount LV Sands Corps has said they are willing to kick in over and above the $250 million they are already providing.

Last and certainly least of these options is Cashman Field. And with the way the committee members talk, it’s a wonder it’s even still being considered.

“It is less attractive,” Majestic Realty executive VP Craig Cavileer told the Review Journal. “It’s not Strip proximate, it’s farther away from the airport, it’s farther away from direct access to the I-15. I don’t think we should dismiss it entirely, but I would not put it up there with one of the most attractive alternatives.”

Clark County Commissioner Sisolak said plainly “I can’t see that happening.”

All parties involved agree they will not have settled on a site by July 11 or the meeting on July 28. They hope to have narrowed it to two of the above sites by the meeting on July 28 and go from there.