Reno Aces stadium refinance deal approved

RENO - The Reno City Council has narrowly agreed to spend $1 million on a refinancing deal for the Reno Aces baseball park to make sure the Triple A team doesn't leave town, despite some objections the money should be spent on other more pressing needs.

The council voted 4-3 on Wednesday to take the money from the taxpayer-supported general fund to refinance a $55 million construction loan used to build the riverfront stadium, which opened four years ago when the team moved from Tucson, Ariz.

The Reno Gazette-Journal reported that under the new deal, the Aces can't leave Reno for 30 years as long as payments are current.

Backers of the arrangement say the home to the Arizona Diamondbacks' Pacific Coast League affiliate is a boost to nearby businesses as well as Reno's quality of life.

Critics say it's a luxury at a time the city is still struggling to pay police and firefighters.

The loan originally was supposed to be financed by property tax revenue from the Reno Redevelopment Agency, but that fell through with the recession and falling property values.

With the $55 million loan coming due late next year, the Aces' owners proposed the new arrangement. One of them, real estate mogul Herb Simon, said without the public deal, he would cut his losses in Reno and move the team elsewhere.

As part of the deal, a $6 million loan used to move a Reno fire station and is held by the Aces owners will be retired after 10 years of $1 million payments from Reno. The Aces owners also gave up development rights to the first floor of the National Bowling Stadium. The stadium will become publicly owned after 2043 once the final $1 million payment is made.

Councilman Pierre Haschef said he supported the deal because the Aces' owners agreed to several concessions, including increasing their annual lease for the stadium from $1 per year to $1 million.

"Talk about somebody stepping up to be a partner to keep that stadium open," said Hascheff, who was joined by Mayor Bob Cashell and Councilmen Dave Aiazzi and Dan Gustin in voting yes.

"This is good for the social fabric of this town," Aiazzi added.

Jessica Sferrazza, Dwight Dortch and Sharon Zadra voted against the deal. Dortch said it was too much to ask when the city is "still bleeding from the recession."

"We've had layoffs, we've seen our general fund go down $35 million since the start of this recession," he said. "We have fewer cops on the streets today than we've had since mid-1990s."