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By Sean Whaley
Donrey Capital Bureau
CARSON CITY -- A proposal to spend $60 million to improve and expand the Thomas & Mack Center and $85 million to upgrade the Sam Boyd Stadium may force lawmakers to choose between academic and economic-athletic interes
ts.
Community and business leaders in Las Vegas are working on a plan to make the improvements to the two sports and entertainment facilities. Supporters say the projects are needed to meet Western Athletic Conference f
ootball commitments and to ensure major economic events such as the National Finals Rodeo remain in Southern Nevada.
But the projects could put both the Legislature and the Board of Regents in the uncomfortable position
of choosing between competing interests with loyal constituencies. The regents, who oversee UNLV, own and operate the facilities.
Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, said the projects are important because of the economic
impact to the state. The two facilities generate income with headline events such as the National Finals Rodeo, top-name concerts and the Western Athletic Conference.
"The work needs to be done, but so do a lot of othe
r projects," Porter said.
Regents Chairman Maddy Graves said he is in the "fact-finding" process and would not comment further. The projects are expected to be discussed at the April 25 regents meeting in Las Vegas. Pat Christenson, facilities director for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, estimates the Thomas & Mack Center needs between $30 million and $45 million to upgrade and expand by 8,000 seats to ensure the continued pres
ence of the rodeo, which has drawn 2 million tourists to Las Vegas in its 12-year tenure.
Sam Boyd Stadium needs between $30 million and $40 million for improvements and expansion by 20,000 permanent seats to meet oblig
ations for WAC, which UNLV has joined, and for the Las Vegas Bowl.
Longtime Southern Nevada business and community leader Kenny Guinn said funding proposals, which also could include the UNR's Lawlor Events Center, are
being studied.
Guinn said one potential money source is a $250-per-machine, per-year slot tax, part of which already is dedicated to paying off bonds that financed the construction of Thomas & Mack and the Lawlor Events
Center 15 years ago.
The bonds, which will be paid off in 2001, could be refinanced to get started on the projects immediately. Or the slot money now used to pay off the bonds, about $4.8 million a year, could be used
beginning in 2001 to start making the improvements. These options would require action by the Legislature.
"We would want to use the funding on an equal basis as it was allocated in the past and that's fair to all," Gui
nn said. "We would not touch the academic money or change the north and south ratio."
A fund-raising campaign also might be used to supplement any state money awarded to the two projects, said Guinn, a Republican running for governor in 1998.
"I've been here 33 years
and these facilities have been absolutely fantastic for the community," Guinn said. "As the city grows, they become even more important to the people who live and visit here."
UNLV President Carol Harter said there is a
great deal of community interest in the facilities that coincides with the interests and needs of the university. But there also is a point at which those interests diverge, she said.
The university is interested in k
eeping the facilities in good condition, but the proposed 8,000-seat expansion at Thomas & Mack is a community need related to the rodeo, Harter said.
"Our first priority is that we are an academic institution," she sai
d. "We need a library and a law school. Those are my first priorities."
Norval Pohl, UNLV's vice president for finance and administration, said there could be some lively debate about the use of slot tax revenues for th
e expansion and renovation projects.
The slot tax money came to Nevada in 1979 after Congress abandoned a $250 per machine levy. The state then imposed the same tax and started collecting the money, which is supposed to
be used for educational purposes. The tax will generate $50.9 million this fiscal year.
But 20 percent -- $10.2 million this year -- was designated by the 1981 Legislature to pay off bonds to build Thomas & Mack and La
wlor. Only about $4.8 million is needed to pay off the bonds because of the increase in the number of slot machines.
The remaining money has been used for academic projects, such as purchasing the equipment and furnishi
ngs for UNLV's architecture building.
Pohl said university system officials could make an argument that the $4.8 million should be spent on academic needs when the bonds are paid.
The
slot tax might be appropriate for some of the work, he said, but not all of it.
"What we're hoping for is support from the local community," he said.
Christenson said the expansion o
f both facilities is a pressing issue.
At Thomas & Mack, an agreement with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association to keep the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas to 2010 depends on expanding the facility to 26,000 se
ats by 1999, he said.
The stadium project, while not as critical, needs to expand to 50,000 permanent seats both for the conference commitment and for the Las Vegas Bowl, Christenson said.
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