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This rendering shows the Las Vegas Raiders stadium west of Interstate 15 and the Strip. Construction on the 65,000-seat stadium is expected to be completed in time for the 2020 NFL season.
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2019 | 1:50 p.m.
A recent report that the Oakland Raiders are close to a two-year agreement to continue to play at the Oakland Coliseum may have raised some eyebrows in Las Vegas.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that Oakland Coliseum Authority Director Scott McKibben said the Raiders and the authority were working to finalize a lease for the team to play at the facility this season with an option for 2020.
But the Raiders are expected to move into a new $1.8 billion stadium under construction near the Las Vegas Strip for the 2020 season.
Steve Hill, chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, said today that he isn’t concerned about the 2020 option.
“It’s smart on their part to have a backup plan,” Hill said. “I don’t think anyone involved anticipates them needing to use that backup plan, but the possibility, while remote, that something could happen is there.”
A spokeswoman for the Coliseum Authority said today that McKibben would not be fielding questions from the media about a potential lease agreement until Wednesday at the earliest.
The Raiders’ media relations department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hill said that the stadium project is on schedule and on budget. He said the stadium’s roof is slated to go up later this year.
With the National Football League schedule due to come out in April, the Raiders have been trying to lock down a home stadium for the 2019 football season.
Talks to continue play in Oakland broke down late last year when the city sued the Raiders and the NFL over the planned relocation to Las Vegas.
