Commissioners to hear plans for state-of-the-art arenas

Those who are proposing arenas to house top-tier sports and other events will get their first chance today to make a public pitch to the Clark County commissioners, who will decide the winning player.

Three rivals have detailed plans for developing state-of-the-art arenas that would cost half a billion dollars or more, seat 20,000-plus people and require some public funding.

They will make 15-minute presentations to commissioners, who are expected to ask county staff to analyze the viability of each plan.

No public input will be taken during the board's discussion, but people can speak during the general time set aside for public comment.

All of the arenas, including a fourth that would be located within Las Vegas city limits, are proposed for areas near Las Vegas Boulevard, from the north to the far south and just off the Strip.

Last month, commissioners resisted the idea of subsidizing an arena when the county is grappling with a budget crunch. A couple of commissioners said last week that they would not rule out offering public aid but that they were unsure about the timing.

"I just don't know if it's the right time," Commissioner Steve Sisolak said. "I have a lot of questions. I'm still concerned with record unemployment and a huge shortfall."

Proponents estimate that an arena would create 3,000 to 4,000 construction jobs while it was being built, and thousands of support jobs after it opens.

Well-paying construction jobs that last 18 months or more would be welcome in this economy, Sisolak said. But he questioned how much taxpayers would be on the hook for financially and whether it was worth generating short-term construction work and low-paying service jobs.

"Is an arena the most critical public need that we have?" asked Commissioner Larry Brown, a former minor-league baseball player.

Brown said he also wants to know exactly how arranging public financing would be carried out.

"I think the real sentiment is no new taxes," said Chris Milam, president of Texas-based IDM, which proposes a $750 million arena off Sahara Avenue.

It would be dubbed the Silver State Arena and would stand on the former Wet 'n Wild site, where Milam sought to build the world's tallest skyscraper several years ago.

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered the proposed 1,888-foot-tall building reduced to just under 1,100 feet so it wouldn't pose a hazard to low-flying planes. But before the project gained steam, the real estate and financial markets tanked.

Milam said he is glad that he and his partners withdrew from the venture because it probably would have wound up unfinished like the nearby Fontainebleau resort. A sports stadium is more viable in this economy, he said.

Sue Lowden, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, and her husband own the property where Milam wants to build. They have offered to use the land as collateral to borrow $350 million and invest the money in the arena.

Milam hopes the county will revive the scrapped redevelopment district encompassing the site. That way, about $9.3 million a year in property tax revenue generated in the district could help pay for construction.

Another arena is being proposed on 10 acres that Harrah's Entertainment owns behind the Imperial Palace. Harrah's would donate the land, worth about $182 million.

Former County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury founded a nonprofit group that is spearheading the $488 million project. The arena would be paid for with a revenue bond and a seven-tenths of 1 cent sales tax imposed only in the resort corridor.

A project of such scope will create thousands of jobs when unemployment in the building trades is running as high as 80 percent, said Danny Thompson, one of the group's board members and a secretary-treasurer for the Nevada AFL-CIO.

Because it would be a not-for-profit arena, it would belong to the public, Thompson said.

Developer Garry Goett is floating a third proposal. He wants to build a $600 million arena on 260 acres he owns on Las Vegas Boulevard South near Cactus Avenue.

Goett would lease land to the county for 30 years. The project would require $325 million in public money to be viable, according to Goett's report.

Like Woodbury's group, he suggests a resort-corridor sales tax to fund bonds. It would result in a six-tenths of 1 percent increase in the sales tax within the prescribed area.

Both Goett and Woodbury want to put an advisory question on the ballot to gauge voters' interest in a resort-area tax.

Commissioners also will hear a proposal for a venue within the city of Las Vegas. Cordish Cos. is studying the feasibility of building a sports arena near Las Vegas Boulevard and Stewart Avenue.

Details are hazy about how Cordish would finance the project because the company is still negotiating with the city and has up to two years to study the project's feasibility.

Sisolak said the plans involving a sales tax increase worry him. If the taxes fail to generate enough revenue to cover the bonds, the county might have to make up the difference, he said.

Milam's plan to tie into the redevelopment district has its own problems, Sisolak said. If the arena spurs development north of Sahara Avenue -- the city's turf -- the city would reap the benefits, he said.

Proponents talk about an arena being multi-use and housing non-sporting events, but no one has offered specific examples, Sisolak said. So it appears as though the arena's success will ride mostly on sports, he added.

Sisolak questioned whether the arena could attract pro teams able to fill seats. Las Vegas probably would get a newly formed expansion team or a team struggling in a mediocre market, neither of which would be of championship caliber, he said.

"Vegas likes a winner," Sisolak said. "No one is going to support a loser."

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@ reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.