HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — With a $1.9 billion stadium for the relocated NFL Raiders about halfway complete just off the Las Vegas Strip, a team headquarters and practice facility is taking shape a short distance away in suburban Henderson.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the $75 million campus includes a structure enclosing an artificial turf football field and a half, a three-story office building and three outdoor natural grass playing fields.
Team President Marc Badain has said the facility, near Henderson Executive Airport about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the stadium, will be the center of team operations after the move next year from Oakland, California.
It will have design features similar to the 65,000-seat stadium, with black glass and a ribbon motif on the outside, said Las Vegas Stadium Co. project chief Don Webb.
“Mark Davis and the organization felt like this is a one-time opportunity to build something that will really reflect the Raiders’ commitment to the game, the community and business,” Webb said.
Davis and about 300 team employees will move in when the campus opens in June, and the Al Davis Memorial Torch will be moved installed outside the main entrance.
Al Davis, Mark Davis’ father, was the Raiders’ principal owner and general manager for 39 years. He died in 2011.
A three-story atrium will showcase Raiders memorabilia leading to an area with a 150-seat theater where Webb said team members will review game videos and the public could be invited for special events.
A cafe will be open to the public, Raiders team and staff. Webb said a glass partitions will allow the public to view field house practices and other events.
“Our intention is so that people cannot only just watch practices, but it could be available for an evening play or a bar mitzvah or whatever,” he said.
Team and business offices will be on the second and third floors, with balconies and Davis’ and Badain’s offices facing the outdoor field. A production studio will be on the second floor.
The field house roof, 110 feet (33.5 meters) tall, will be high enough to allow punted balls to not hit the ceiling, Webb said.
The enclosed field house will let players escape blistering summer heat, and an audio-visual system will be able to shape lighting and crowd noise to emulate game day experiences at other stadiums.
A player performance center with physiotherapy pools and performance-measuring equipment will be next to the field house.
The indoor field could get heavy public use, Webb said, since the Raiders will likely use it only a couple of months each year.
The headquarters sits on 55 acres (22.3 hectares) of land. Webb said another 30 acres (12.1 hectares) could be developed for other uses.
