EDITORIAL: No to soccer stadium

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman stopped talking long enough to actually hear her constituents. But she didn’t listen closely enough. City residents don’t want to use public money to help fund construction of the downtown soccer stadium Mayor Goodman desperately wants built. She wants the stadium so badly that she berated concerned taxpayers in a long-winded rant at a Sept. 18 town hall meeting at Rogich Middle School in Summerlin. The gist of her monologue: How dare you question what I want for my city?

But she got the message that the city’s plan with developer The Cordish Cos. and Findlay Sports &Entertainment, which would build the $200 million stadium if the city is awarded a Major League Soccer franchise, was too risky for taxpayers. So on Thursday, she announced a new plan that reduces the city’s construction costs from $115 million. Under a new term sheet that the City Council will vote on Wednesday, the city would borrow $50 million, cover $14 million in infrastructure costs and pay $22 million from a new sales tax district.

It’s still too much. It still requires the city to repay debt with room tax revenue that otherwise would fund parks, recreation and capital projects. The city’s operating budget is already at a deficit. The council should reject the term sheet Wednesday. Another long speech from Mayor Goodman won’t make it any better.