Raiders President Marc Badain says financing for Las Vegas stadium won't be an issue

Reaffirming the franchise's desire to relocate to southern Nevada in the wake of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrawing his $650 million pledge last week, Oakland Raiders President Marc Badain told a meeting of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board on Thursday that "financing will not be an issue."

And while the Raiders also lost the financing of Goldman Sachs, a longtime business partner of Adelson, Badain said "multiple financial institutions" had shown interest in the plan to build a $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat domed stadium that the Raiders would share with UNLV. Badain, though, did not disclose said interested parties.

"You'd be surprised how many people are interested in funding this project," Badain said.

At last week's state of the league address, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said potential investors with casino ties might want to look elsewhere, especially if they are looking for a certain path with their investment.

"I don't see an ownership position in a team from a casino," Goodell said. "That is not something that is consistent with our policies ... not likely a stadium, either."

The Raiders have pledged $500 million to the project and have identified a 62-acre plot on Russell Road, west of Interstate 15 and the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the south end of Las Vegas, as their preferred site.

And $750 million from a hotel tax is also in place.

The missing $650 million from Adelson, though, might be the least of the Raiders' worries when it comes to relocation, as a vindictive Adelson -- who was angered that he was not listed on the Raiders' lease proposal or the team's relocation application to the NFL -- could become their biggest foe rather than their greatest ally in moving to southern Nevada.

A vote for relocation could come during the NFL owners meetings March 26-29 in Phoenix.

Badain said he hoped the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority could make progress on the lease proposal the team submitted last month, which included a proposed $1 a year in rent for the Raiders.

"We're in an industry where we're used to plugging along, and we're used to having starts and stops," Badain said. "[Raiders owner] Mark Davis made a commitment to [Nevada] Governor [Brian] Sandoval, and we intend to see that through."

-- Information from the Las Vegas Sun was used in this report.