The 155-acre golf course has emerged as the preferred location for a 14,000-space parking lot, but the deal has multiple complications. The golf course owner is currently serving five years in a federal prison and must abstain from negotiations, and the property is also part of a lawsuit in which the US Department of Justice is demanding $75.5 million in underpaid rent.
The new Las Vegas Raiders stadium, being built on 62 acres of land, has been fully cleared for construction, but the $1.9 billion project still needs to satisfy a 14,000-space parking lot requirement. Bali Hai Golf Club, a 155-acre golf course, has emerged as the preferred location, Casino.org reported.
Clark County signed off on the stadium with the understanding that the Raiders would buy or lease nearby acreage to serve as a parking and tailgating center when the team begins playing in 2020, Casino.org reported.
But a host of issues complicate its acquisition. ” [While] it would be an ideal site, it’s a lot more complicated than some people understand,” Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak told the Las Vegas Sun this week.
One serious hurdle lies in the fact that convicted sports gambler Billy Walters controls Bali Hai and its lease. Walters, who was found guilty of insider trading last year and is currently serving five years in a Pensacola, Fla., federal prison, must abstain from being involved in Bali Hai’s negotiations, Casino.org reported.
The more complicated hurdle in the Raiders stadium buying Bali Hai and paving the golf course is a pending lawsuit brought by the federal government. Last August, Clark County received a letter from the US Department of Justice, demanding $75.5 million in underpaid past and future rent, Casino.org reported.
The land Bali Hai sits on is actually owned by Clark County, which acquired it from the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1998. Under the BLM terms, Clark County is to share a certain percentage of the revenue generated on the property with the federal government, Casino.org reported.
In 2000, Clark County reached a 99-year lease agreement with Walters to develop the vacant land into a golf course. But the now-convicted felon claimed for years that the course never turned a profit. He therefore paid no rent to Clark County, which in turn shared no revenue with the BLM, Casino.org reported.
In 2011, Clark County and Walters reached a new arrangement that required a $100,000 annual lease payment for the 155 acres. The BLM received $85,000 each of the past six years, while the County took just $15,000 per year, Casino.org reported.
In its letter, the DOJ said the fair market value of the acreage far exceeds the $100,000 deal Walters had been paying. The government says it should have received $12.5 million to date, and wants to be compensated for the course of the 99-year lease, which it determined to be $75.5 million, Casino.org reported.
The 62 acres the Raiders stadium will sit on was purchased last May for $77.5 million, Casino.org reported.
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