Bringing Vegas a Win-Win

Five weeks. Multiple constituents. One colossal goal—make the improbable happen.

The Win Win Nevada Coalition needed a strategy to secure support from two-thirds of 63 Nevada state legislators to enable the governor to call a special legislative session to authorize and fund an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center and construct a stadium to bring the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas.

With five weeks to pull off the seemingly impossible, R&R activated our team to build public support and influence the state legislators. While it was widely believed that the projects were necessary for Nevada’s continuing prosperity and to continue to compete with other tourism destinations, the public funding component had significant opposition both in the public and many in the Legislature. It was critical that we generate public enthusiasm and communicate it effectively to lawmakers.

R&R’s government affairs team worked with Governor Sandoval, his advisors, and his economic development director to craft an agenda for a special session and work out the details of public funding for the two very important projects. Simultaneously, the team worked with legislative leaders from both parties to negotiate the terms and conditions of support for both the convention center expansion and the stadium project. Financing terms were negotiated, community benefits impacts were considered, labor and employment goals were established, and legislation was drafted, redrafted, and revised to accommodate each party’s needs.

In this high-stakes sprint, the results were black and white; either win or lose. We won for our partner. R&R secured support from two-thirds of 63 Nevada state legislators to enable the governor to call a special session. They passed the two bills to fund the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center and the construction of a new stadium.