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StumblePublished Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 | 2:20 p.m.
Updated Friday, Dec. 10, 2010 | 2:24 p.m.
Steven Horsford
Backers of the proposed sports arena on the Las Vegas Strip may have succeeded in getting enough signatures to put the proposal before lawmakers next year, but legislative leaders aren’t necessarily happy about it.
In an interview today for "To the Point," Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, expressed some irritation that they will have to consider a special sales tax increase for the private project despite many pressing issues facing lawmakers when they convene in February.
“We’re required, despite all the other challenges we have with the budget, redistricting, this is an issue we will have to take up,” Horsford said. “My questions and concerns are at a time when we’re looking at cutting the budget nearly $3 billion, particularly for education, how is it that we are going to fund a proposal to build an arena? Are those the priorities we need in Nevada?”
By law, the Legislature must consider the petition in the first 40 days of the session.
Under the initiative petition pushed by Caesars Entertainment Corp., financing for the proposed 18,000-seat arena would be backed by an increase of 0.9 percent in the sales and use tax to be imposed in a gaming enterprise zone on the Strip.
Horsford was less antagonistic toward a federal bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that would legalize online poker. Horsford called it a policy whose time has come.
Why doesn't this tax and spender just go away?
Build it.
Season tickets sold for life right here.
The revenue from people that go to the events, work the events, and media it will generate (to increase visitors) will be well worth it.
Stop slacking and build the stupid thing. Build it where the Bali Hai Golf Club dis-functional money loosing course is now, since its government land anyways. That thing is a useless waste of money.
Logic it was a signed petition of a couple hundred thousand who has brought this up how ever I feel that if it was profitable why don't private industry do it. Because its called PRIVATIZING PROFITS AND SOCIALIZING THE EXPENSES.
Of course Horseford would back Harry Reid's online poker bill, he is a Democrat after-all.
Taxpayer money should not be used to build sports arena. If the arena will make money as the promoters suggest, then let private enterprise build it...
let them build it as long as it is financed with PRIVATE investment. let the fans subsidize it with $10000 a year seats and $14 beer along with $50 parking. go for it!!
just get approval to put it on the county owned bali hai golf course property and you would have private companies begging to build it with their own money, especialy if they could have a lease agreement like billy walters does on the property. no profit = no rent to the county.
It's a perfect place to put a stadium/arena and the county owns it so private money would build it. 2 birds, one stone.
I really don't like Mr. I Take The Handicap Spot but I agree with him on this one.
Senator Horsford should be near absolute zero to this proposal.
First, why should tax money go towards something that private investment wants no part of?
Second, the whole theory of attacting an NBA franchise is flawed. Currently not only is the NBA not looking to expand, it is considering contraction. Any team that might be lured to Las Vegas (Sacramento, New Orleans, Charlotte) are a franchise that would likely be eliminated by contraction. Then what? We have an arena with hundreds of millions of future sales taxses on the hook and no team. Las Vegas will also have to live with the stigma of not being able to support a major league finance.
Finally, what are the priorities in Nevada> Raising taxes to pay for an arena to provide some short-term construction jobs (and if you have been to most construction sites you see license plates from CA, AZ, NM, UT, ID..... plus most of the materials used in construction are imported into Nevada, thus the stimulative impact is exported) then provide a very limited number of full time jobs to provide economic benefit to Caesars Entertainment? Or should the priorty be taxes that educate students and help families by providing essential services.
No more taxes. If the Casinos can not afford it, it must be a bad investment.
Redamndiculous. Tell Jan Jones, Sue Lowden, and all the other mouthpieces for the corporations that if they think its such a good idea, go take a loan out and build it. Socializing the losses is exactly right. The only reason they want the government involved is to mooch off the taxpayers. We have more important things to worry about.
How it gets built is a problem, but we do need a new arena here. Entertainment is our business and the Thomas & Mack is getting out of date; the National Finals Rodeo, which is putting money into the economy at this traditionally slow time of year, will leave if we don't do something. A new arena would be good for a variety of other events such as big concerts as well. I am not too enthused about an NBA team though - the all-star game was a bad experience for the city.
The casinos are opposed because it would be competition for their too-small arenas. However, the casinos have shown repeatedly over the years that what they want is not always in the interest of the greater community.
I am loathe to support public funding to build an arena for a billionaire's professional sports team. A good multi-purpose arena to help keep Las Vegas a major entertainment destination is in the community's interest and I would support that.
Fine, Richard. then pay for it our of your wallet, but not our tax dollars.
>>Entertainment is our business and the Thomas & Mack is getting out of date; the National Finals Rodeo...will leave if we don't do something.<<
WRONG!
This is a complete fallacy that people pushing to profit from this fiasco cry daily. The NFR is not leaving. It has no desire to leave. Its been offered twice the amount of money it currently makes to go to Arlington to Jerry Jones new arena and the NFR turned it down flat. They do not want to leave because they LOVE LAS VEGAS. Stop with your guessing that 'they must want to leave becasue someone somewhere said that'. Idiocy.
>>A new arena would be good...<<
No, it won't be a good idea. The cost of keeping it profitable is not sustainable given our record wilth supporting professional sports. Richard, in the last paragraph, you based your conclusion that we needed a new stadium on nothing but other people's opinion. Here, you ignore HISTORY by assuming that the new stadium will be profitable because locals will suuport a professional team. WE DON'T SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL TEAMS, THEREFORE A NEW STADIUM THAT RELIES ON THAT REVENUE WILL NOT SURVIVE!
>>The casinos are opposed because it would be competition for their too-small arenas<<
Man, you are so off base. The casinos that don't support the area are not in opposition because of their own rinky-dink on-site venues. they are opposed to it because they want those visitors IN THE CASINOS GAMBLING, NOT IN AN ARENA.
>>I am loathe to support public funding to build an arena for a billionaire's professional sports team<<
Me, too, but only if its completely privately funded. If they want to take the risk, then fine, but not on my dime. Born and raised here, I know this will not work, so if they want to chase this dream, let them pay 100% for the ride.
Jan Jones, Sue Lowden, and their flunkies could learn a great deal from the state on how to build a new facility. When UNLV wanted to build a new, state of the art basketball facility for the team, they knew, just as Jan Jones and Sue Lowden should know, that the public will never fund it, not even part of it. So the University secured private donations and began construction. Right next to the NFR that people like Richard have false hopes that we will lose is the construction area for the new Mendenhall center.
Are you reading this, Jan Jones? Sue Lowden? Oscar Goodman? YOU DON'T NEED PUBLIC FUNDING IF YOU GET OFF YOUR REAR AND RAISE THE MONEY! If this arena is such a great idea that is so profitable, then they should have no problem. The Mendenhall center will NEVER make money, and UNLV was able to secure private funding to construct it because the public wanted it.
Maybe we need Dr. Smatresk, the president of UNLV, to be the next mayor. He has his head on straight.
If you just add extra handicap parking, Mr. Horsford will come around! NBA is a non-starter, why not soccer? Regardless, local government has proven numerous times that they will give the farm away for their pet projects.
I really like how Mr. Walters has gotten away with no payments. But, more disheartening is how he got a 99-year deal, while everyone else's contract is 50-years? And, through it all, Mr. Walker gets no blame?!
That the problem when trying to get something done around here, too many politicians putting their two cents in. Just build the arena, jobs for about 4 years, and most likely the Sacramento Kings will come to town. A new home in Sacramento has been bogged down for years and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. THe Maloof's want their team in town. There is plenty of business for everyone in town with an arena. The new arena will be mainly used for basketball and hockey. If they build it right the 51's can even play ball there.
I am figuring that Mr Hill, the above poster either lives in another state, or is a retired union worker who has no need to come out of his house to understand what makes Las Vegas tick.
With time on their hands, the NFR, like a good politician, will not reveal their hand until the end of the contract. Say what keeps the locals and ticket buys happy until you have to report the truth.
Even the NFR has stated that a modern multi-purpose stadium is needed to keep the events we have and attract the ones we have lost.
How it is funded is the issue. MGM and Harrah's paid a lot of money to keep these people in power and they want to make sure they get their money's worth.
We also know these two corps have no clue to what cash is or how to structure a profitable deal. They are both wallowing in debt.. Much like the idiots in Carson City.
At least now, the debate can get serious...
Is anyone else a bit puzzled by the tone of this article?
Senate Majority Leader is pissed off that he now has to delay pressing issues like redistricting and online gabling, to deal with some proposal that the bothersome voters in the state created??
That's your job you moron.. To deal with the issues the impact the people who live here, not what impacts your political campaign.
Online gambling only benefits his biggest campaign contributors and a new arena impacts the people who live and work here.
Gee, let me guess what's more important to the State Legislature??? Which issue should get the most attention???
Yes, maybe a new tax is not a way to get it built, so find a way to deal with the issue... That's what the ballot issue demands...
Fact is that we need new ideas to get more people to come here. More people would mean more tax revenue.
Such a structure needs to be built to keep tourists coming to the largest city in the state. To provide jobs and raise more tax money from a new source. (a novel idea, I know)
Not worry about what a new line on a map will do to your reelection efforts....
We're getting real COLD ON HORSFORD. The guy seems to think money equals education. We've more than doubled our financial commitment to K-12 yet there have been NEGATIVE RETURNS. Cut teacher salaries from $73K a year. Cut teacher retirement from $50K a year at age 47. Many people get about $1000 a month Social Security, not $49,995 after only 25 years. Remove teachers from the firefighter retirement process. EXTEND THE SCHOOL DAY, THE SCHOOL YEAR. END TENURE. Small classes don't work. Larger classes allow all students the benefits of being around the bright ones.