Raiders minority owner Michael Meldman said he has made Las Vegas his home as key aspects of his business life are based in Southern Nevada.
Meldman owns luxury real estate development firm Discovery Land Group, which developed the uber-exclusive Summit Club community in Summerlin and was one of the founders of Casamigos tequila, along with actor George Clooney.
Meldman, who was part of a group who purchased a larger 25 percent stake in the Las Vegas Raiders in May, now owns 12.9 percent of the team. He said his decades-long relationship with Mark Davis played a role in him becoming a minority owner.
“I love Las Vegas, like I said, I live here and I have a big business here,” Meldman told the Review-Journal on Monday after announcing a $5 million personal contribution toward the Raiders’ $25 million gift to help build Nevada’s first stand-alone children’s hospital.
“The Raiders were a great investment and a great way to participate more in the community. And Mark and I go back 20, 25 years, so I’ve always been a big believer in working with friends, having businesses with friends, because that way you’re always trusting the person and believing them. So Mark owning them was an important factor in the decision besides living here.”
With the Raiders, Aces and Golden Knights in Las Vegas now, the MLB’s Athletics arriving in 2028 and the NBA actively exploring expansion to Southern Nevada, Meldman said he has looked at other investment opportunities in the space, but hasn’t made any deals, at least locally.
“We’ve looked at stuff,” Meldman said. “I invested in Benfica, which is a soccer team in Portugal because I have a big project in Portugal, and I wanted to kind of give back to Portugal a little bit. But we keep buying more of the Raiders, so we love the Raiders and are focused on Raider Nation.”
Meldman wouldn’t count out the potential to invest in a Las Vegas NBA expansion team should the opportunity arise.
“Possibly, but whoever gets it, if they need an investor, I’m sure we could look at it because we’re not pursuing any elite group right now,” Meldman said.
Meldman said the recent explosion of teams now calling Southern Nevada home makes sense with all the area has to offer.
“I think Vegas is probably the best sports city in the country, maybe outside of New York,” Meldman said. “Everybody wants to come here, right? If you have an away game, you’re always going to try to schedule Vegas. We have the hotel capacity. Like I said, we have the restaurants. We have things to do. So, I feel every great sporting event should be here in Vegas because we could accommodate it so easy, not only with the hotels, but also getting to the stadium, getting to different venues. It’s all so easy and convenient.”
With a great deal of his business interests being located in Las Vegas, Meldman said he moved to the area around three or four years ago and that he enjoys living in Southern Nevada.
“I love being up in Summerlin,” Meldman said. “I have a great view of the Strip. My house looks right at the stadium, so that’s kind of fun. And then I just love how accessible everything here is in Vegas. You’re 20 minutes from any great restaurant in the world on the strip. You can get anywhere you want around the world from the airport. So, Vegas has been a great place and great home for me and my family.”
A’s owner John Fisher also lives in the Summit Club and has known Meldman for years from when the two both lived in the Bay Area.
“John, I go way back,” Meldman said. “I was an investor in the A’s when he purchased it originally, and my son and his daughter went to preschool together. So, we both lived in San Francisco a while ago, so having John move out here, come to the Summit was actually a very proud day for me.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
