Poll: Las Vegas Residents Don't Want Public Funds Used For An NFL Stadium

Las Vegas ABC station KTNV polled Clark County residents about whether or not they would want to pay $500 million in order to help build the Raiders an NFL stadium. Of the 750 people polled, 55 percent said they opposed spending half a billion dollars on a new stadium, while only 35 percent were in favor. Voters from around the state opposed the stadium funding at an ever wider margin:

The KTNV-TV 13 Action News/Rasmussen Reports found opposition to public funding for the stadium across demographic lines, from gender to party association. Voters statewide opposed the measure by a 60 to 28 margin, with 12 percent unsure.

Additionally, $500 million is the floor of how much the public would be required to pay. That price tag could increase by 50 percent and balloon up to $750 million, easily the most voters would ever have to pay for a new stadium. The 11-person committee meets tomorrow to work on hammering out a final figure and sending a proposal to Nevada governor Brian Sandoval. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his Las Vegas Sands Corporation would theoretically be on the hook for any construction overages.

Once the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee makes their recommendation to Gov. Sandoval, the State Legislature would have to approve any tax increases. They are currently scheduled to meet in February 2017. It doesn’t appear that voters will get a chance to directly approve the use of public funds, but the politicians who can approve the deal do have the threat of getting voted out of office for betraying their constituents. It happened to Cobb County’s Tim Lee last night after he helped the Atlanta Braves secretly secure $400 million in taxpayer money.

[ KTNV]