LV council presses for answers on arena
Local officials long have talked about luring a professional basketball or hockey team to Southern Nevada -- but it was mangled football imagery that dominated Wednesday's discussion of a proposed arena in downtown Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas City Council was short and sharp with would-be developers REI Neon: It's time, the council said, to prove you can get this project off the ground.
"We're on the 15-yard line," said Jill Ferrari of REI Neon, trying to assure city leaders that the company is close to completing its ambitious plans for an arena site.
"Which 15-yard line?" Councilman Steve Wolfson asked.
REI Neon now has until Feb. 20 to complete a development agreement with the city of Las Vegas. The company and the city have been in exclusive negotiations since Aug. 1, and the deadline for completion has been extended several times.
The agreement would outline how the development would proceed, including the city's involvement.
"The extension is a benchmark date," Mayor Oscar Goodman said, noting that the site has attracted interest from other "parties who are of substance."
"This is serious business," he said. If REI Neon doesn't meet the deadline, "I want you to know, as far as I'm concerned, that's the end of it."
REI Neon's plans call for a 22,000-seat arena, retail space, hotel rooms, residential units and a casino on 85 acres to the north of the Stratosphere.
The land is bordered by Charleston Boulevard on the north, Wyoming Avenue on the south, Main Street on the east and train tracks on the west.
Ferrari told council members of a "gap in the financing" that the company is working to fill. REI's proposal put the development's price tag at $9.5 billion.
Her reassurances fell on skeptical ears.
"If an NBA team comes to Clark County, it needs to be in the city of Las Vegas," Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese said. "It would really hurt the city of Las Vegas if it went somewhere else."
There is a competing arena proposal. In August, Harrah's and Anschutz Entertainment Group announced plans for a 20,000-seat arena behind Bally's and Paris Las Vegas on the Strip. At the time of the announcement, company representatives said that funding was already available and that it wouldn't be necessary to seek financing.
Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or (702) 229-6435.
