The public board that oversees the stadium in Las Vegas where the NFL’s Raiders plan to begin playing in 2020 unanimously approved on Thursday a conditional lease agreement for the venue.

Las Veags Stadium Authority board Approves Raiders’ lease for venue

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority board’s decision to ok the $1.9-billion, 65,000-seat arena’s lease is the last major hurdle the Raiders must jump in order to finalized their relocation to the city from Oakland. Now, NFL owners must also approve the lease at the league’s annual spring meetings, which will be held May 22-24 in Chicago.

The lease agreement is conditional because it stipulates certain requirements the Raiders must meet with regards to the stadium’s treatment: insurance, repairs, maintenance, naming rights and a rent-free provision, among other things.

Raiders president Marc Badain recently stated that if the board hadn’t approved the lease by Thursday, the new stadium — which will be built near the Las Vegas Strip, west of the Mandalay Bay casino-resort — likely wouldn’t have opened until 2021, a year after the team was originally scheduled to start playing there.

“In order to approve a lease, you need full membership, and the league has four meetings a year: one in March, one in May, one in October and one in December,” Badain said on May 11. “So, if you miss the May deadline, you push to October, we would lose a year, and everybody wants to get this project going, everybody wants to get these guys to work. So we didn’t want to miss that deadline.”

Coincidentally, the board’s decision comes on the same day it was announced that the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers’ new stadium in Inglewood, California would be delayed one year (until 2020) due to heavy rainfall.

“We got to the finish line in time, but we didn’t start real well, and obviously, that kind of set off some events,” LVSA chairman Steve Hill said follwing the board’s meeting. “We lost six weeks in the process, but we made up for it, the Raiders made up for it, and we are here today where we need to be.”

The board fell six weeks behind in their decision after casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrew his $650-million commitment to the project just days after the first draft of the lease agreement was released in January. Adelson’s withdrawal thus forced the team to search for the money the billionaire had pledged.

In the end, the team secured a loan from Bank of America. Guests of hotels and other lodging facilities in the Las Vegas area are contributing $750 million via a room tax hike, while the Raiders and the NFL have been expected to contribute $500 million.

The Raiders would not be required to pay rent under the 30-year lease agreement, although it would need to contribute to a fund that would cover capital expenses that arise as the stadium ages.

The agreement also grants the team has the right to name the venue and forbids any type of gambling on the premises.

The board will next handle an agreement that could permit the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to use the stadium.

The Raiders purchased a 62-acre area of land on the South End of Las Vegas for $77.5 million in order to build the new stadium. Here is a look at the site:

“It’s going to be spectacular,” Badain said after the lease was approved.

LAS VEGAS, NV – MAY 01: A 62-acre site west of the Las Vegas Strip that was purchased by the Oakland Raiders for USD 77.5 million is shown on May 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team is expected to begin play no later than 2020 in a planned 65,000-seat domed stadium on the site at a cost of about USD 1.9 billion. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

NFL team owners voted to approve the Raiders’ application to move from Oakland to Las Vegas at the Annual League Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.

NFL Team Owners approve Raiders’ move to Las Vegas

The owners voted 31-1, with only the Miami Dolphins voting against the proposal. Twenty-four votes were needed.

“My position today was that we as owners and as a League owe it to the fans to do everything we can to stay in the communities that have supported us. I want to wish Mark Davis and the Raiders organization the best in Las Vegas,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross told the Palm Beach Post.

The Raiders won’t immediately move to Las Vegas, since construction of their planned 65,000-seat, $1.8 billion domed stadium — which will be shared with UNLV — isn’t expected to be completed until 2020. They will play this season at the Oakland Coliseum and have a contract option to play there again in 2018. After that, they will probably need to find a temporary venue to play in until their new stadium just off the Las Vegas strip is built.

Once they relocate, it will mark the franchise’s third move since its founding in 1960. The Raiders previously played in Los Angeles before they moved to the Oakland Coliseum.

On Friday, Oakland and Alameda County officials made a last-minute attempt to convince NFL owners that they indeed had a realistic stadium plan for the Raiders. In a letter to the league, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf outlined a proposal for a $1.3 billion stadium plan in Oakland that would include public financing.

To respond to Schaaf, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wrote in a letter that the plan “does not present a proposal that is clear and specific, actionable in a reasonable time frame, and free of major contingencies.” He added: “All of these efforts, ours and yours, have not yet identified a viable solution” toward keeping the Raiders in Oakland.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr tweeted that the news leaves him with mixed emotions:

Two other NFL teams have relocated in the past 14 months. The Rams moved from St. Louis back to Los Angeles last year and in January, the Chargers announced their decision to move from San Diego to L.A.

After no viable stadium deals were reached in Oakland, Las Vegas emerged as the Raiders’ strongest possible destination after Nevada lawmakers approved $750 million in public funding for a new stadium. The Raiders and the NFL will provide $500 million toward stadium construction and Bank of America will contribute additional funding. Bank of America stepped in after Goldman Sachs and Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson withdrew as investors in January.

The team had been seeking a new stadium since February 2015, when they announced a joint project with the Chargers to build a stadium in the L.A. suburb of Carson. NFL owners, however, voted in favor of the Rams’ Inglewood stadium project in January 2016 and gave the Raiders the potential option of relocating to L.A. if the Chargers decided not to move north.

Two weeks later, Davis met with Adelson to discuss the possibility of the Raiders playing in a proposed stadium in Sin City. By April 2016, Davis publicly stated his desire to move to Las Vegas if the city was in agreement for this move.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval finalized public funding for the stadium in October.

The Raiders are coming off their first playoff appearance since 2002 after posting a 12-4 record and finishing second in the AFC West. The team has won three Super Bowl titles and an AFL title in its 57-year history.

The Raiders are the only NFL team to share a stadium with a Major League Baseball franchise (the Athletics).

“We understand the Raiders’ need for a new stadium. Oakland is an incredible sports town and we would be sorry to see them leave,” the A’s said in a statement. “We commend the city’s and county’s efforts to keep the Raiders in Oakland. The Mayor and her team have worked incredibly hard to save the franchise. We are focused on, and excited about, our efforts to build a new ballpark in Oakland and look forward to announcing a location this year.”

KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 8: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium during the first quarter of the game on December 8, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)

The Oakland Raiders reached yet another step closer on Monday to their possible relocation to Las Vegas.

Bank of America to Finance Raiders’ Possible Las Vegas Relocation

The team informed the NFL that they have secured financing from Bank of America for their potential Vegas stadium, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, citing a source informed of the situation.

Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News was first to report the news.

The Raiders initially filed for relocation on January 19.

Just weeks ago, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Goldman Sachs had been separately lined up to provide the $650 million needed to bridge the gap between the NFL/team contribution ($500 million) and the available taxpayer money ($750 million) for the $1.9 billion stadium. Both Adelson and Goldman Sachs later withdrew from this plan, however.

NFL Executive Vice President Eric Grubman confirmed to Rapoport that the Raiders presented the new funding plan to the league’s finance and stadium committees and that Bank of America “confirmed their readiness to provide traditional bank financing so that the project would be fully financed.”

Grubman stated once the committee reaches an agreement regarding the new proposed plan, it will have a clearer picture on how to proceed in helping NFL team owners assess whether the Raiders’ funding for a Las Vegas stadium is secure. Any such potential relocation by the team would need to be approved by 24 of 32 team owners.

“Bank of America is a very well-known as respected lender to the sports industry,” Grubman said in an email to Rapoport when asked if the NFL is pleased with the bank being on board.

A league official is unsure whether there will be a vote on the Raiders’ possible relocation at the owners’ meeting later this month, according to Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole.

KANSAS CITY, MO – DECEMBER 8: Quarterback Derek Carr #4 of the Oakland Raiders throws a pass against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium during the first quarter of the game on December 8, 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)

Chelsea’s plans to build a brand-new £500 million ($612 million), 60,000-seat stadium to replace Stamford Bridge were approved by London Mayor Sadiq Khan early Monday.

London Mayor Approves Chelsea’s New Stadium

Martyn Ziegler of The Times posted a press release confirming Khan has green-lit the project, which would include an injection of £15.75 million ($19 million) across community activities and affordable housing in the area:

Chelsea, the Premier League leaders, have been based at Stamford Bridge since the club’s founding in 1905. The organization chose the venue as its home turf after it was opened in 1877.

Yahoo Sport UK’s Matt Lewis also confirmed the news of Mayor Khan’s approval on Monday in addition to images of the planned development, which will result in Stamford Bridge being converted into a state-of-the-art venue:

“Having taken a balanced view of the application, I’m satisfied this is a high-quality and spectacular design which will significantly increase capacity within the existing site, as well as ensuring fans can have easy access from nearby transport connections,” Khan said in a statement. “I’m confident this new stadium will be a jewel in London’s sporting crown and will attract visitors and football fans from around the world.”

The re-construction will raise Chelsea’s maximum attendance from the 41,631 they currently hold at Stamford Bridge.

As of today, Chelsea play in only the seventh-largest stadium in the Premier League, sitting behind Sunderland’s Stadium of Light (49,000 capacity) and West Ham United’s new Olympic Stadium (57,000 capacity).

Chelsea released the following statement after the mayor’s approval: “Following a review by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, we are delighted he has chosen to support the council’s decision. This is the latest significant step toward redevelopment of the stadium and the delivery of the extensive local community programme. Further steps lie ahead, both during and after the planning process, before construction work can commence.”

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: David Luiz of Chelsea celebrates scoring the opening goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield on January 31, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)