LETTER: Las Vegas Monorail expansion a good investment for the county
I appreciated the excellent May 8 article on the monorail extension financing issue. I support guaranteeing $4.5 million annually in hotel room tax revenue, if needed, to help obtain loans to extend the monorail from MGM to Mandalay Bay. This project is an appropriate and reasonable use of the hotel room tax.
The extension was originally intended to serve hotel guests by providing an alternative to driving to the new Raiders stadium. Let’s remember the Clark County commissioners approved the stadium with only 2,400 of the 16,000 parking spaces required by code.
It is unfair to condemn the monorail’s bankruptcy during the 2010 recession when many major businesses faced the same dilemma. The monorail is an amenity unique to Las Vegas that should be supported, not dismissed. With the extension, it will provide an even more valuable convention marketing tool that other cities can’t match.
