Postcard from the Bahamas: China’s $30 million gift to Nassau

Editor’s note: Mark Anderson is covering the UNLV men’s basketball team’s trip to the Bahamas. Every day this week he is sharing his experiences away from the arena.

Near Sir Kendal Isaacs Gym, where UNLV is playing basketball this week, sits Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, built in 2012.

If the building has a bit of a bird’s nest feel, there is a good reason. The 15,000-seat stadium resembles Beijing’s famous “Bird’s Nest” stadium during the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the facility was a $30 million gift by the Chinese.

Officials say the stadium, home to the Bahamas Bowl, did not come with expectations of anything in return, but a local cab driver was skeptical when I rode in her taxi to the gym. She didn’t think the Chinese would spend so much on a stadium without wanting something back.

I couldn’t argue that point, and the Chinese, in fact, have been growing their footprint in the Bahamas by investing in downtown Nassau. The Nassau Guardian reported as far back as 2011 the U.S. government was concerned about growing Chinese influence in the Bahamas.

But it got me thinking. UNLV wants a new on-campus multipurpose facility, and Las Vegas wants a new stadium to attract the Oakland Raiders.

Maybe someone has a number in China to call. You know, for “a gift.”