Raiders still months away from Henderson groundbreaking

The NFL team, which plans to move to Las Vegas from Oakland, California, in 2020, is already building its 65,000-seat stadium near the Strip. But it hasn’t submitted building plans for its practice facility and headquarters off St. Rose Parkway near Henderson Executive Airport.

Henderson city staff “tentatively expect” to receive plans in late September, and the football team has “tentatively talked about breaking ground in November,” Henderson government spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said in an email Tuesday.

After the Review-Journal asked to speak with the team about the project’s timeline, Mike Taylor, the Raiders’ director of public affairs, said in a statement Tuesday, “We are working closely with the city of Henderson and they have been great partners.”

He did not elaborate.

The Henderson City Council voted in February to sell 55 acres of land to the team for about $6 million, half the appraised value. At the time, a groundbreaking was being considered for April or May, according to city spokesman David Cherry.

The Raiders closed the land purchase in June, property records show.

Raiders president Marc Badain has said the facility would feature executive offices, an indoor practice facility, an outdoor field and possibly a Raiders Hall of Fame.

The property boasts a volatile history. During the mid-2000s bubble, developer Bill Plise set out to build City Crossing there. The $2 billion, 126-acre project called for hotels, luxury homes, retail and high-end offices.

But nothing was built, both the project and Plise went bankrupt, and questions surfaced about City Crossing’s money.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.