Damn the consultants. Mayor Oscar Goodman is going full speed ahead with the idea of building a new arena downtown.

Goodman said Thursday he thinks a new arena could be built without taxpayer money if an NBA or NHL team is involved. His stance comes despite the position of a report that is expected to be approved by a task force today.

The report, paid for by the city and Clark County, maintains that between $11 million and $27 million a year of public money would be needed to build a new $404 million arena to replace the Thomas & Mack Center.

But Goodman said he is in talks with parties that would bring a professional sports team and new arena without public money.

"No one's going to privately build a stadium unless a team is there," Goodman said at his weekly news conference. "But if the NBA is going to come here, I have ways where I believe it could be built without taxpayer dollars."

He did not disclose how that would happen and would not identify what groups he is talking with.

He said later that if a private business and Clark County moved forward with a new arena south of the Strip, he still would want to see an arena downtown.

"I'd go out and get an NBA team or NHL team and have them build it for us," he said.

Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid said Thursday that he was reserving most of his comments until after today's meeting, when the report from consultant Conventions, Sports & Leisure International is approved.

But he said that a public discussion is required if public money would be needed to build a new arena.

"We need to ask the question, is this a priority in the community when we're growing so quickly and have so many other needs?" Reid said.

Pat Christenson, chairman of the arena task force and president of Las Vegas Events, said he would applaud an arena that did not require public money and that would be regarded as a neutral site benefiting all of the casinos.

"If somebody puts that on the table, with no cost at all to the community to do this, and we were allowed to continue to present special events and a professional team, that would be great," he said.

But he said that the conclusions about costs by the consultant were the result of surveying corporations and gauging their interest in buying luxury boxes and seats.

He also said that he thinks the market could support one new arena only.

The task force, which was announced by Reid, Goodman and representatives of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studied whether the valley needed to replace the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Las Vegas City Council and Clark County Commission each voted to split the $200,000 cost.

The task force's consultant has identified four locations -- two in downtown Las Vegas and two south of the Strip -- as being preferred.

The report said a $404 million arena is needed to replace the Thomas & Mack Center.

The report puts the yearly funding gap -- what the public would need to pay for -- at nearly $11 million per year without a professional sports franchise, based on a 30-year payment schedule.

With a sports team, that amount would balloon to $26.7 million because a pro franchise probably would take all of the revenue from the arena.