She's entering her fifth season as president of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Sandra Douglass Morgan joins us this week on Nevada Week.

Support for Nevada Week i provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt and other supporters.

Welcome to Nevada Week.

Im Amber Renee Dixon.

Joining you from the headquarter of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders will soon start their seventh season in Las Vegas and their fifth season with Sandra Douglass Morgan as president.

Raiders owner Mark Davis hired the Las Vegas native in 2022, and she sat down with Nevada Week to discuss the business and philanthropy behind Raiders football.

Okay, so you are entering you fifth season with the Raiders.

What is something that you've accomplished or implemented in your time here that you're really proud of?

You know, there's there are a lot of things.

But as I kind of reflect and enter into this first season, it's really about the people.

And you know, the Raiders are so special obviously such an iconic brand, but really trying to build some, organizational consistency, And, you know, tech helps with that, right?

Having the right systems in place help with that, having the right software and the tech that can communicate between marketing and finance and procurement.

Those are all things, I could be putting people to sleep right now and help us to be more efficient.

And when everyone is doing that and it helps everyone become not just more efficient, but seeing how they were able to contribute to maybe a deal being made or a savings that we were able to realize.

It just creates buy in.

And when we keep buy in, we can grow revenue, we can reduce expenses.

And then that benefits everyone, for me, anytime I see, cross-departmental, you know, successes or people that are really saying, hey, I never even spoke to this person, this other department, but we work on this project together and, it's benefited the entire organization.

That's when I feel like things are moving in the right direction for someon who's watching in May ask, well, what role does she play in wins and losses?

How would you answer that?

what was let's say this way I'm not making decisions on players and I'm clearl not calling any type of plays.

However, as president of this organization, my goal is the entire organization to make sure that we are focused, that revenue streams are coming in, that we're a sound fine financially.

So I truly believe that ou business and operational success does help ownership.

And our coach and our GM, you know, acquire and, retain talent when it come to these incredible facilities.

When it comes to our our weight room, our stadium.

And, you know, those are things that I know just now being able to be on the road.

We have some of the best facilities, you know, not only in the United States but in the world.

And being able to keep that up will ultimately help.

I believe, you know, have a world class football team.

Is it accurate to say that the revenue you help bring in helps pay players?

Oh of course.

Well, yes, it's yeah, it's all tied together.

So that' a huge part in wins and losses.

Yeah.

How big of a role does winning play though in the business.

And how is business for the Raiders.

You know business for the Raiders is great.

You know we hav we're in an incredible one of a one of a kind destination as you know any team right.

Any any sports team, any sports organization, any individual athlete knows that winning helps.

But my job is to make sure, again, the business and the organization is financially sound and being able to grow our fan base winning would help that.

However, the Raiders have such an iconic international brand and it is more than a sports, more than a game.

It's truly like a lifestyle and a culture, right?

And we have such a rich history.

And explaining to Las Vegans about that history and how it kind of ties in to, you know, helping not only the NFL but just athletes and sport in general is part of my job to kind of engage in and help with fans.

So I would say winning definitely helps.

Business is great.

The stadium has goodness.

I mean, it is, such a proud, proud I don't want to say asset just for the Raiders, but for the entire state.

It is by far, I think one of the, could be truly a test case for the success of a public private partnership.

You know, anywhere.

Our partnership, you know, not just with, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, but obviously we go before the stadium authority, you know, often because you know, Mark is so meticulous and wants to make sure that the stadium stays i tip top shape and day one shape, you know, throughout, you know, its existence.

So business as well.

The stadiu helps.

Concerts are incredible.

We've had international rugby, international soccer, the biggest and best headlines and, it's great.

Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders, has contribute to the team's business success.

It opened in 2020 and while the Raiders do not own it, they operate it and keep most of the revenue it generates.

Both public and private money funded the stadium to get the Raiders to relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1 in 2016.

The legislation committed $750 million in public funding toward the construction of the $1.9 billion stadium.

A Clark County Hotel roo tax is repaying the bonds issued for that public contribution, and now the stadium is set to receive more public dollars as a result of that same law.

One day after our interview, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board approved $75 million for a new entrance project at Allegiant Stadium, estimated to cost $158 million.

Its purpose is to ease congestio at the stadium's north entrance.

And so Allegiant Stadium was named Billboard magazine' top grossing stadium in the U.S.

and second highest in the world for 2025.

The Raiders get most of that revenue.

And so then how do you justify asking for more public funding for a new entrance at the stadium?

Yeah, it's interesting that it's I would characterize the not to your question a little bit differently.

We're not just going and asking for public money, okay.

The money from Senate Bill one there's a waterfall mechanism.

And it's pretty clear in the law that it's for stadium use only.

So that designatio and that determination was made by the legislature before I was with the team.

and this is the first time that we've actually aske to access the waterfall funding, which is governed by the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.

And it's interesting that, look, I get it.

I've been in public service.

I understand the public dollars and how far it can go and how much more we want it to go.

But ultimately, when the decision was made to invest into the stadium, it was so that it would continue to be a world class stadium.

And I would submit that every promise or every projection that wa made has been exceeded by far.

And that's due to not only because of the destination, but the fact that we're running an incredibly well operation there, and through the last six years of the stadium has been open five with fans.

We've been able to look at every aspect of the fan journey and the fan experience, knowing that our ability to host a Super Bowl, our ability to host a college football playoff and a championship game, our ability to host an NCAA Final Four really depends on, you know, yes, the hotel rooms, the convention space.

But that experience at the stadium, and we have consistently heard that the ingress and egress of the stadium has been a challenge.

So yes, we're so prou of all the awards we've gotten.

And, you know, whether it be Billboard, whether it be green to zero, whether it be sustainability whether it be from the Paralyzed Veterans of Americ with respect to accessibility, whether it be to safety, all of them we've received.

But we know that when someone has a great experience of stadium and they leave and they have to stay on a bridge for 30 to 40 to 50 minutes kind of standing there, that's not the experience we want them to have.

And they don't want to say, oh, I had a great time at, you know, a Raider game.

But goodness, leaving was terrible.

So all of this would be on the property that is owned by the Stadium Authority, again, a public asset.

And it would enhance not just ingress and egress transportation.

Our TNC companies, that's als been kind of an ongoing issue.

We currently, do not own the land that that location is on.

So having that be in play, we do already have a specia use permit through Clark County Prospect, the boring Statio that could also be located here.

It's a two level, proposed, and I and I use the term front door, and I know that it's much more than a front door.

It's an ability for people to go into the stadium, going up down around escalators, stairs, and they would be able to truly have a public plaza that people could enjoy that game being experience, possibly even if even if they don't even have a ticket.

There are some journalists who ask, well, why wasn't this built that way in the first place?

if you could find a building that accommodates 65,000 people, that was done up with 100% accuracy the first time.

I would love to hear and see it.

However, I do believe that this waterfall funding, when it was contemplated back in 2016, in order to keep the stadium in pristine condition, contemplated significant investments like this.

If that was the case, there wasn't.

There wouldn't be a mechanis for the excess room taxes to go.

So, you know, in 25 years, there's going to be so many different development in stadiums.

You open the paper and every day you're hearin about a new arena, not just here in Southern Nevada, but all over the country.

You know, whether it be in Washington Buffalo, Denver, Jacksonville, Kansas, Kansas City and Chicago, everyone's talking about a new stadium, and we know we have, a special place in Las Vegas, but we have to keep our stadium in pristine condition in order to get these incredibl events that truly have helped.

I would submit the entire state of Nevada building over bringing over 10.1 billion in revenue since the stadium is open.

That is something no one contemplated, when that legislation was passed.

And so What you are requestin is $75 million in public money, which is actually the hotel room tax, right?

That 40 previously designated to be reinvested into the stadium.

Yes.

It could go toward paying the debt of the stadium.

Right.

Correct.

Why not do that?

That's a better question for the stadium.

Okay.

All right.

But how is the stadium.

How are the Raiders doing i repaying that debt on on time.

Oh absolutely.

If it was not being paid at a like the fact that there is that amount in the waterfall shows that the room tax revenu that's coming in is doing well and it has to be paid.

The debts have to be paid even before it gets to the bucket that we're, requesting access to.

They wouldn't even have considered.

I don't even think it would have.

I can't speak for, the chairman or members of the Stadium Authority, but I can't foresee it even making an agenda.

If the, debt covenants weren't being taken care of already.

What do you think is most misunderstood about this particular topic?

I think that it's as though it's public money that could be diverted to roads and school and education and health care.

You know, that is not what this this fund, was designed to access.

It was specifically for the stadium.

And that's why we're doing it.

I think that the Raiders, you know, I would submit the track record that we've had, since I've been, you know, president even before has truly been rooted in communit because that comes from the top with Mark Davis.

The first thing he said to me is that Sandra, we need to be woven into the fabric of this community.

They need to understand we are the Las Vegas Raiders and his words, not mine.

Right.

We're bringing a football team right?

We're bringing an army.

He has said that, most recently, even as last week, with the intermountain donation for the children's hospital.

So you know that, our track record, I think, speaks huge donation.

I think the largest in franchise history.

Right.

Wow.

You're a part of that decision making as well.

Not just overseeing busines operations, but where money goes philanthropically.

Yes.

Correct.

Yes, absolutely.

An and we have an incredible team.

You know, Piper Overstreet White's our senior vice president of government and community relations, Carrie O'Hara, as our vice president of philanthropy and executive director of the Raiders Foundation.

Both of those women have very deep, strong ties to this community and to the state So I definitely rely on them heavily.

And I ask, do you say I'm I'm local as well?

And, you know, the three of us and, and even the entire team and all in all honesty, being able to kind of bounce ideas and, you know, discussions and request and, you know, with the foundation, this was something that I heard a lot when I first started is because you have to know someone at the Raiders to even get in to get access.

And, you know, both Piper and Kerry kind of created this grant process, for, you know, any and any, nonprofit organization to kind of apply and look at our pillars, whether they be military and veterans, youth development, health and wellness, and make an application so that we can see where our dollars are going.

And and we're not just giving dollars.

We're asking people, what are you doing with it?

And how does it tie back to the Raiders so that we can truly track our impact?

Another example, I think, of just having them operating at a higher level and understandin where every dollars being spent.

Well, I want you to look at this picture of you and your siste as a little girl in Las Vegas, and I wonder what she would have thought of what you have become and what you have meant for the community.

Oh my gosh, at Oakland Mills?

No.

Last I remember this photo, I don't know.

My sister is such a she is.

She's, smarter to be, to be pretty.

But she is salutatorian.

She is a professor at Columbia University.

And it's funny, we sound alike.

I remembe when I used to call her office when people actually had, like, land phones back in the day, and they would think later on, you.

Why are you joking?

Why are you calling anyone she worked with?

They she worked at the city a while ago.

But we're very different.

And so I don't know what she would think.

I would say the city of Las Vegas.

Okay.

You were city attorney for North Las Vegas.

She used to work at the city of Las Vegas, and then she was at Unlv.

And now she's, she's had a couple of stops now, but now she's a, a professor and, department leader, for educational leadership at Columbia.

But she is my she's my biggest champion.

Like, she she'll push me.

She's she's my big sister.

So anytime I am, let's say unsure of something, it could be something that's so small.

She's like, go for it, do it.

I'm going to tell a quick story that was, funny.

We're both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, incorporated.

She became a member in 1990 for me.

In 1999, they had our a national conference that kind of happens every other year.

And it was in Las Vegas.

So, I attended and so did she.

And, I was so, I was I was given an award, and I was really happy that she was there to be able to attend.

And it's there were a lot of awards.

So the program was goin and I didn't, give any remarks.

And she's quite a, you know, Texan way that you should be giving remarks.

What's going on afterward?

I find ou and I did end up giving remarks.

I just said, you know what, hey, I'm in my hometown and I've been a member for 25 years.

I'm giving remarks.

But the funny thing is she ended up texting one of the organizers, like, my siste should be able to say something so it never stops.

It doesn't matter how old you are, she's always going to be m big sister and having my back.

And it was just it was funny and we laughed.

We laughed, had a good laugh.

Does she have Mark Davis's number?

No.

Goodness.

She probably has it.

Yeah.

And so this is you, her and your dad.

Can you tell me about your mom and dad and their background?

And I just I can't imagine a more perfect person from Las Vegas to represent Las Vegas.

You know, my, it's interesting at this age, you know, parents getting older, children getting older.

But, my father, June 1968, okay.

He's 18 years old, and he enlisted in the Air Force, When you think about an 18 year old, black man in 1960, options were not, you know, there was not a plethora of options to say it very kindly.

And, he enlisted and served this country, with, you know, but obviously it was, oh, seven over 20 years.

It was ended up being on a went on Air Force bas in Missouri, my sister in Ohio, and he met my mother, both of their second marriages here in Las Vegas.

And my mother worked in the gaming industry, places like, I just remember like, landmark Imperial Palace.

I remembe she worked at Santa Fe Station.

I'm sorry, before with Santa Fe Station, which is called Santa Fe, and it was in the middle of nowhere.

And I took to my head, ice skating there when I was in eighth grade, I got both incredibly, very hard working people.

And, my mother always worked swing shift because she was in the gaming, and she, my father worked day so that my sister and I were never, you know, home alone and always just stresse the importance of an education.

And, I just remember, you know, them again, just just working very hard.

And I'm glad that they've been able to retire.

My father golfs, significantly.

Ed the Nellis Air Force Base and any other place that he can go.

And, you know, my mother is, you know, able to spend time.

I have an aunt that lives in town as well.

So they're able to to do what they want, and that's what they deserve.

You know, just two very hard working people, you know, and putting everything into their daughters, my sister and I. So when I look at this picture, I'm proud.

I'm glad he comes to, you know, games.

That was a salute to service game as well.

So that's why he has you know, the flag on his on his body.

I don't know where do you want to go next?

You pick being the first blac female president of an NFL team, or what was going on with the Raiders in the 1960s and what they did fo their African-American players.

You know, that is something that makes being here truly special.

I will answer your question, but, you know, I was raised here.

I you know, as you mentioned, I've been in public.

I've been in public service here when I was in North Las Vegas, I really remember having the Craig Ranch Regional Park and getting, my fans for that was important because I felt like that was something tha my family and legacy could see.

And, you know, residents there could be able to enjoy.

So being, the president of this team and first of all, getting Mark's trust to even have this role, and then making sure it ha the impact based on his vision was something that was really personal, obviously, to him, but then to me as well.

And so I took his trust, very seriously, in that mandate to make sure that the Raiders were truly embedded in this community.

Seriously, for those reasons, for me, it was an easier ask not just because I grew up here, but when you look at the long history and tradition of the Raiders right there, it's not just a bald, an iconic logo and, you know, tough guys, you know, on the field there is a true thoughtfulness, that the decisions that were made and why and I've been able to look at all the interviews from, you know, as Father Al Davis about hiring and selecting certain coaches or, you know, CEOs or, you know, leaders in that organization, not because of who they were, but because they were the best person for the job.

you know, not focusing on necessarily on the fac that they were making history.

But when you look at people like Tom Flores, Art shell and what they meant for generations or, Jim Plunkett and even, you know, gems, you know, around all the time and seeing just young Latino athletes, regardless of the sport that they play but definitely football players.

Just seeing them in someone and, you know, not you don't really understand it until you, I think, see someone in a position that looks like you o has a similar background to you, that it is a little bit is more meaningful.

And I can say the same thing, whether it be for Oprah or Connie Chung or, you know, Wilma Rudolph or an you know, anyone saying, okay, that there is something there that, I aspire to be like, so knowing that the Raiders have that incredible history, and that I could even contribute to a part of it or even, explain to Las Vega and the whole world why that's part of the Raiders DN is is something really special.

And I think it's special for this organization.

And now you are that you are the woman that a little girl can see and think.

I too can become an NFL team president.

And that's an that is special.

And I and I, you know, think that well, I should say I think I know that when I'm doing my best and, with you know, the incredible people in this organization and the team and our general manager and our ownership and our coach that, I hope to make that little girl proud.

And a little boy proud.

And anyone that sees, you know, any piece of my, my history or my journey, in them, you know, that I hope that this position an my role in these last five years just gives anyone, a different lens and different types of leadership, right?

And different types of journeys to kind of get you there.

It's not a one size fits all.

One thing that stood out to me in that impact playbook from 2025, this went back five years, though, and it was about how many collegiate scholarships have been awarded to women for flag football, something that was not in existence in 2022, right when I started.

I will say Nevada, deserves credit for being one of the first five states to even have our girls varsity flag as a sanctioned sport.

You know, you're seeing places like Texas still that haven't gotten that done.

Right.

We're definitely encouraging even Utah and Hawaii, to do that as well.

So kudos to the state for even being abl to set that, that opportunity.

And now it's time for to really establish, female athletes in the pipeline of flag football.

And the Olympics clearly helps.

Having Nevada State University, you know, have it as a, as a designated sport definitely helps.

Shout out to other athletic director Yvonne Wade.

She's incredible.

So do our inspire program that is for girls flag that we hosted here.

We've hosted at different fields, you know, all throughout Las Vegas, and we've been able to have now three young women have collegiate scholarships.

And so the first was only two seasons ago.

Now we had two more.

And it's just incredible to give these young women opportunitie to be able to play beyond now, not just beyond high school, but now college.

And now with the NFL's investment in flag, having a hopefully a professional flag league, very soon.

Wow.

Okay, back to this season.

What excites you most about the upcoming season?

Well, I think it's exciting to have our general manager, John, my attack, you know, here for a second season as well.

For it to have, just again, stability and a clear focus on what, you know, he what his vision for this football team and what he wants it to look like, and the character and the type of player that he's seeking, and just getting to know him better has, has been great.

To be able to coach now into this new season on this journey with him has been incredible.

Obviously we have the number one pick, which is exciting and exciting moment for our team.

To have, you know, a new, you know, person that's going to play for the team hopefully for many years to come.

That's exciting to have our fan base and our and our, you know, ou employees kind of rally around.

Yeah.

I mean, we've gone this whole interview without talking about Fernando Mendoza.

Imagine that.

Like the first one it's been in a while.

But in all seriousness, you know, a lot of pressure for a young man.

And obviously he's done such great things, you know, winning the Heisman and and graduating from Cal Berkeley and seeing what he's done at Indiana.

But he has been a team first, has a team first mentality.

And I know that's what's something that's really important, not only to our general manager, but to our coach as well.

And when you look at the quarterback room, you know, kind of led by Kirk and, you know, Aidan O'Connell, who has been here for four seasons, who has seen, a lot, a lot of adversity.

And he is I think just the way he the way he moves and operates, he's a trul a class act and a professional.

So, you know, those three guys in that quarterback room, I think that's somethin for the Raiders to be proud of.

And for us to all rally behind as well.

But there's so many different, exciting things.

You know, we have, great food and beverage options at the stadium.

We have wonderfu new activations at the stadium.

You know, Armadillo Tailgat Zone is going to be something.

And so just, you know, coming in in 2 to 3 weeks is great.

We we can't wait for it.

You know, we just had our two preseason games and just having football back in the building is just a different vibe.

It's a different energy.

And that's you know we have ten games, that we have at Allegiant Stadium and that's our show time.

And we take each and every one of those very seriously.

So we can't wait.

And last question, what would you consider to be a successful 2026 2027 NFL season for the Raiders?

You know, I think, we always think fan first.

So to give, a product, you know, on the field of something that our fans are going to be proud of, to show improvement in areas, you know, it's it's not that many teams can do a complete 180 in 1 season.

So, you know, it's going to take some time, but we're going to make sure that I hope that we're and I do believe that we're going to se some improvement on the field.

And then with respect to our stadium and our gameday experiences, you know, we want to we're listening to the fans.

We want to give the fan something that they're proud of and excited of at every single, brea and every single quarter break and halftime and post and pre-game.

So we're going to continue to invest in that.

We know we're in the hospitality capital of the world and we want to make sure the fan feels that experience when they're at the stadium and then just, you know, looking at additional opportunities for our team.

When I say team, I mean our employee base to kind of grow and engage, you know, this is we are the Raiders.

It's football first but there's so many incredible international events that we're hosting.

And so giving our team access to the best of the best of internationally whether it comes to hospitality, experiences, operations, security, is something that I'm really looking forward to.

I'm really encouraging our team to kind of stretch their wings and expand and and try different things, whether it be the US open, F1, different types of those hospitality options that we can continue to learn and grow from.

Sandra Douglas Morgan, president of the Las Vegas Raiders, thank you for joining Nevada Week.

Thank them for The Raider finish last season three and 14.

They'll kick off their regular season under new head coach Clint Kubiak on Sunday, September 13th at home against the Miami Dolphins.

For any of the resources discussed in this show, including a link to the Raiders Impact playbook, go to Vegas, PBS.org, slash Nevada Week and I'll see you next week on Nevada Week.