Vegas Stadium Critic Feels NFL Is Heading For A Decline
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — A critic of a deal to publicly fund a Las Vegas stadium says he's not sure the NFL's business model will be intact three decades from now when the public will finally pay off the venue.
Rev. Arthur Gafke warned Tuesday that professional football is at its zenith now, but said brain injuries stemming from the sport could catch up with it and create massive financial liabilities.
He compared tackle football and its lingering physical affects to an ancient society throwing young people off a cliff as a sacrifice to the gods.
The Nevada Legislature is in its second day of a special session.
It's considering raising hotel taxes so it can put $750 million toward a stadium for the Raiders and $420 million toward a convention center expansion.
Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani (JOON'-killy-AHN'-ee) is lambasting the process lawmakers are using to vet a plan that would publicly fund an NFL stadium in Las Vegas.
Giunchigliani said Tuesday she's troubled that the stadium deal and a plan to expand and renovate the Las Vegas convention center are bundled together. People who support the convention center for the jobs it will bring but oppose putting money to the stadium must vote against the whole thing.
She said the deal is rushed, urging lawmakers to have the courage to vote no, then bring up the convention center plan for a vote in the regular session begins in February.
Giunchigliani has been a vocal critic of the plan and says a stadium isn't an emergency worthy of calling a special session.
Critics of a plan to put $750 million in public funds toward an NFL stadium in Las Vegas are kicking off the second day of the Nevada Legislature's special session.
The Nevada Senate started Tuesday with public comment from opponents, who complained Monday that they were only given an opportunity to speak late in the day with little warning.
All lawmakers were told to arrive promptly for a 2 p.m. meeting on Monday, where they watched a promotional video about the project and listened to heavy-hitting proponents of the deal including Steve Wynn and executives from Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts.
Critics also found it inappropriate that lawmakers clapped after speeches from proponents, but Democratic state Sen. Ruben Kihuen was asked to stop clapping when he applauded for a critic.
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