Financing questions remain on proposed Cox Pavilion at UNLV

Thursday, Nov. 4, 1999 | 10:49 a.m.

If the 4,000-seat Cox Pavilion adjacent to the 18,000-seat Thomas & Mack Center is to be built in time for next winter's UNLV sports seasons, a decision on its financing must be made by year's end, officials say.

The question is will it be an $8.5 million practice gym for the UNLV men's basketball team as originally planned or will the university pony up $15.5 million to create a home for the school's women's volleyball and basketball teams and a venue for concerts and trade shows as was announced in May?

"I think we are at a point where we have to make a decision," Thomas & Mack Director Pat Christenson said. "If we are going to get this built and open by Sept. 30, 2000, in time for the women's volleyball season, we have to get it on the November or December Board of Regents agenda for approval."

The proposal the university regents would consider would be a loan for the $15.5 million rather than a request for public funds to build the facility.

The foundation for the pavilion already has been poured and some of its walls constructed.

"It was never envisioned that this would be a project that would cost the taxpayers anything," Christenson said, noting that his bosses, including UNLV President Carol Harter, will have to approve the concept for the high-end funding before presenting it to the regents for consideration of a loan.

Christenson said the problem with scaling back the project now is the uncertainty of whether its principal partner, Cox Communications, would want its name on a lesser facility.

Seriously scaling back the project also would leave UNLV with the same dilemma it has had since the 1980s -- providing modern, adequate facilities for the women's indoor sports teams that currently use the old North and South Gyms on campus for not only their practice sessions but also their games.

"We are committed to support the university in this partnership because it will be beneficial to not only UNLV but also the entire community," Cox Communications spokeswoman Stephanie Stallworth said. "We have been advised of potential scale backs."

Cox has pledged $5 million in increments of $500,000 per year for 10 years -- money that would be used to pay off part of the loan. Christenson estimates that the facility would have to generate enough revenue to pay off another $1.5 million per year in principal and interest.

Without the Cox money the facility would have to book enough events such as boxing matches, corporate parties and trade shows to cover $2 million in annual loan payments, Christenson said.

Christenson described Cox's pledge to the project as "a very good deal -- I would hesitate to ask them for any more money. If they offer, that's another thing."

"We will wait and see what the regents do," Stallworth said when asked if Cox would up the ante. "Cox will do what it can to help keep this partnership alive. No one has raised the discussion of more money with us."

In addition to getting its name on the building, Cox Communications will receive signage exposure in both the Thomas & Mack and the pavilion. It also will have an interactive kiosk in the Thomas & Mack similar to the one at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. The company's logo will adorn the arena floor.