RENO, Nev. (AP) – Three people whose votes could determine whether a nearly $2 billion stadium is built to lure the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas were appointed Tuesday to vacant seats in the Nevada Legislature.
The three northern Nevada residents, including a former Stanford football player, will join other state lawmakers for a special session the governor is expected to convene next month to consider raising hotel room taxes in the Las Vegas area to help finance a 65,000-seat, domed stadium that could be home to the NFL team.
The current informal proposal on the table would tax only hotel guests in Las Vegas and Clark County, with no direct impact on Washoe County, Reno or Sparks. But critics fear that in the event of revenue shortfalls, the burden could fall to all Clark County taxpayers or, potentially, taxpayers statewide
“I am a fan and support football as a sport,” said ex-Stanford linebacker Dominic Brunetti, a Republican commercial real estate broker.
“And as a business, I respect the NFL,” he said. “But only if it is fair to those communities and families it influences and impacts through oftentimes very, very complicated deal structures.”