On Thursday, a subcommittee established solely to review Nevada’s potential $750 million donation to the would-be home of the Las Vegas Raiders, voted unanimously to recommend the handout.
That does not mean scheduling is already in the works for a ground-breaking ceremony.
Gov. Brian Sandoval would still need to call a special session for the Nevada State Legislature to vote on the topic. If approved, then 3/4 of NFL owners would have to sign off.
The session will likely need to happen by the end of 2016, allowing NFL owners to vote at their January meeting. Gov. Sandoval is unlikely to call the session in the next couple months, however, with ongoing elections.
So if he does opt to call the session, late November/early December seems probable. The legislature also has the ability to call itself into session with a petition signed by 2/3 of its members.
There are the logistics. But what about the ethicality?
Sheldon Adelson is one of the richest men in the world and he wants the people of Nevada to hand him three quarters of a billion dollars for his $1.9 billion mega stadium. It would be the largest public contribution in the history of American professional sports.
What precedent would that set? Does he not have any buddies sitting on billions who could help pay the $750 million? Or do they just know better?
The plan is for the money to come from an increased tourism tax on hotel rooms. But what if the economy dips again? What if that tax revenue can’t cover the payments? Then the people of Nevada are on the hook to help out a multi billionaire?
Sure, the Raiders would likely create an economic boost for both Southern and Northern Nevada (the Raiders are looking into placing training camp facility in Reno). But how much of a boost? Will it cover the $750 million? That’s uncertain.
With public schools severely underfunded and many on the brink of exploding, it seems ill-fated to play the game of risk. Even for Nevada.
Cougs can prove themselves on Friday
Spanish Springs sits at 1-2 after three games this year. It could very realistically be 2-1, or even 3-0.
The Cougars led in the second half of both losses at Foothill (Palo Cedro, Calif.) in week two and Damonte Ranch last week.
This week, Spanish Springs returns home to play Galena.
The Grizzlies were thought to be a Sierra League title contender the preseason, but have slipped on a couple banana peels out of the blocks and sit at 2-2. They needed to stop a late two-point conversion attempt at home against Hug two weeks ago to preserve a 13-12 win, and got stuffed at home by Reno last week, 28-7.
Friday’s game is meaningless from a standings perspective. But if Spanish Springs wants to take the next step as a program, Friday is a game it needs to find a way to win.
Finishing games in the second half has obviously been a problem for the Cougs, and it’s not a problem that started this year. Galena has the skill position talent to once again make it a challenge late.
Spanish Springs is talented too, though. And it appears the only thing preventing the purple from climbing the 4A North ladder, is a second-half mental block.
Those demons could be exercised on Friday night.
A win would also give the Cougs a confidence boost going into a pivotal contest next week at McQueen. The winner of that one will have the inside track to the High Desert League No. 3 seed.
Tyler Stewart not going anywhere as Nevada’s starting quarterback
A few voices started asking for Ty Gangi to assume Nevada’s quarterbacking responsibilities after the offense was a mess at Notre Dame.
But Ty Gangi is going to remain the backup, at least for the immediate future.
Stewart played as well as he could have in Saturday’s win over Buffalo, completing 16-of-21 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. He also tucked the ball and ran six times for 31 yards and a score. With adversity starting to bubble up around him, Stewart played one of his best games in a Nevada uniform.
Coach Brian Polian didn’t go over the top in his postgame presser about Stewart, but he did speak to the senior’s efficiency.
The plan going into the game was for Gangi to take every third series and be used in certain packages. Gangi completed 1-of-4 passes for nine yards and ran for 13 yards on three carries.
Yes, Stewart was aided by a run game that did whatever it wanted. And no, he isn’t all of a sudden a completely different player. He’s not Colin Kaepernick or Cody Fajardo. But he did remind everyone what he can be: efficient.
And when the run game is working, that’s exactly what Nevada needs.
Nathan can also be reached via email at nshoup@sparkstrib.com. His weekly column, ‘Shoup Shots,’ runs in the hard copy of the Sparks Tribune every Tuesday morning.
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