The best stadium plan

This newspaper produced a fascinating piece of research last week: a compendium of 14 arenas and stadiums proposed for the Las Vegas area since 1996. Nine of those plans are dead; five remain alive.

As the research shows, the latest spate of arena and stadium proposals is hardly new territory for those who have lived here a while. We've seen all manner of architectural renderings. We've dissected all sorts of funding schemes. We've considered many different locations.

And as each proposal fell through and the bodies piled up, our skepticism increased. While developers had no trouble building massive resorts on the Strip and sprawling subdivisions across the valley, they couldn't seem to get their act together sufficiently to build a stadium or arena big enough and nice enough to attract a major sports franchise and host other events.

Despite having endured years of discouraging failures, I have a feeling Las Vegas finally might get what it has long desired. For perhaps the first time, a stadium proposal looks to me like something that actually could happen -- and should happen.

The proposal I am referring to would build a 40,000-seat domed stadium and accompanying facilities at UNLV. Last week, the Nevada Board of Regents voted 11-1 to negotiate exclusively with Ed Roski and Craig Cavileer of Majestic Realty. Roski owns the Silverton hotel-casino in Las Vegas and is a part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers. He helped build the Staples Center in L.A. Cavileer is the Silverton's president.

Certainly every developer still seeking to build an arena or stadium in Las Vegas can make a case that his plan is the best. The ones still on the table include the Caesars Entertainment project in the resort corridor, the IDM/Cordish project in downtown's Symphony Park and the Olympia project at the south end of the valley. But for me, at least, none of them offers the range of community benefits that the UNLV project does.

One of the main advantages of the UNLV project is it would bring the university's football games to the campus where they belong. No more commuting through seven miles of traffic to play at Sam Boyd Stadium. This move would give a tremendous psychological and financial boost to UNLV athletics.

"Having a stadium on your campus lends yourself to big-time college football," UNLV football coach Bobby Hauck told the Review-Journal's Ed Graney. "It makes that Saturday experience all the better for everyone involved."

The developers, however, have wisely not limited their project to hosting six or seven college football games per year and some other special events. If fully realized, their proposal represents nothing less than a dramatic makeover for UNLV. On 150 acres at the west side of the university, Roski would build a retail, dining and residential village around the stadium that would include 3,000 dorm rooms and apartments.

In short, the plan would give UNLV a real campus atmosphere, along the lines of a hundred other great college campuses across the country. It would help recruit top-notch athletes, for sure, but it would also help with recruiting top-notch students and professors.

UNLV should be a focal point of the Las Vegas Valley. Not only should it be a touchstone of civic pride, but it should be conducting valuable research for the benefit of the local economy and producing graduates well-qualified to meet the needs of 21st century employers.

At the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce's annual Preview event last week, Robert Lang, director of the Brookings Mountain West think tank, spoke of Nevada's "absurdly low" investment in higher education. He pointed out that Nevada's per-student funding ranks far below states such as Mississippi, Arkansas and New Mexico. "We are seriously behind Mississippi," he emphasized.

This, I fear, is not going to change anytime soon. Gov. Brian Sandoval and the state Legislature appear far more likely to cut funding this year than to increase it. But Lang made the case that if Nevada wants to improve its economy, it should invest in higher education, not let it wither. He said if UNLV's educational objectives were tied more closely to the business sectors that we want to expand here, the synergy could produce major and lasting results for the economy.

There's nothing new about this idea. It's been successfully implemented in numerous urban centers across the country, from the Bay Area to Boston, not to mention outposts such as Pittsburgh and Austin. There's also nothing new about creating a more cohesive and attractive campus to attract the best and brightest and keep them positive and focused. That's why the UNLV stadium plan is the best on the table. It's not merely a commercial venture, it's something bigger.

"I think it would be tragic to let this great, historic moment slip away," said former Nevada Gov. Bob List.

Hurdles remain. Among other things, Majestic Realty needs support from the state Legislature and the Federal Aviation Administration to get going on its plans. I find it hard to imagine an obstacle that should deter them from their mission.

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is the Review-Journal's director of community publications. His column appears Thursday.