Judge allows Strip arena initiative on ballot

A Carson City district judge on Monday allowed voters to decide on a proposal to raise sales taxes for a new arena on the Strip.

Judge James Todd Russell's ruling found Caesars Entertainment had collected enough valid signatures to go forward with an initiative to raise the sales tax for a $500 million, 20,000 seat sports arena near Imperial Palace.

A group including MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming Corp. had filed a lawsuit in December challenging 157,000 signatures collected during the statewide petition drive. Several Strip resorts oppose a publicly funded arena, arguing that it would pose unfair, subsidized competition to private venues.

Caesars Entertainment, through its Harrah's subsidiary, circulated an initiative petition last year calling for a statewide vote on the plan if state legislators didn't approve the tax increase. In March state senators rejected the initiative, sending it to the statewide ballot in November 2012. Voters will decide whether to raise the sales tax 0.9 percent within a three-mile radius of the arena.