Monday, Dec. 3, 2001 | 9:35 a.m.
A potential land grant could pave the way for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to build a research and technology park that promises to bring new jobs to the local economy.
As part of the deal, UNLV officials are in tentative talks with the board members at the Nevada Test Site Development Corp., a federally funded nonprofit group formed in 1992 to attract private research to the Test Site after nuclear testing was suspended.
University officials want to build a research and technology park and co-locate their professors on the site with NTS Development researchers, as well as other high-tech companies.
"Conversations are occurring between (the two parties)," said Stephen Rice, provost of research at UNLV. "It is not at all clear where this is going to go yet, but it is promising."
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has introduced a Senate bill that would allow the transfer of 115 acres near Sunset Road and Durango Avenue to the university for free. The land, formerly controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, is now owned by the Clark County Aviation Department.
The purpose of a research park is for the university to form partnerships with existing companies involved in cutting-edge research. Such a park creates a fertile environment where scientists in private industry can work with university professors to come up with new inventions or discoveries, Rice said.
Those relationships ideally result in spin-off companies that bring in additional revenue for the university, he said.
The park also is being seen as a way to diversify the economy, something that no politician or organization has been able to accomplish yet.
NTS Development is a good fit for the proposed park, because it already has more than 40 research projects under way. Those projects range from finding more efficient sources of energy for Nevada to creating high-tech innovations to service the gaming industry.
UNLV researchers are involved in similar efforts. Scientists at the Center for Energy have invented a hydrogen-powered bus, among other projects.
It's hard to tell yet what type of research the park will specialize in, according to George Ormiston, chief executive officer of NTS Development.
"We don't have a dominant high-tech niche industry in Nevada," he said. The closest is the casinos' need for security technology and computers to run electronic games. "You have to cast a wide net and to see how technologies will evolve."
Rice said he hopes that dozens of partnerships can be formed and brought into the research park under one umbrella.
The partnership between the university and NTS Development would allow scientists commuting to the Test Site to work in the Las Vegas Valley.
In the meantime, other projects have been proposed for the Test Site. Since Sept. 11 Reid has promoted construction of a counter-terrorism school. A huge wind energy farm also has been proposed for the site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
If negotiations between UNLV and NTS Development do not result in a partnership, backers still plan to go forward with the research park.
To turn a profit, the park will have to rely heavily on revenue from office space rentals. That means it must attract private high-tech companies, which are scarce in Nevada.
"As of today, we don't appear to have the broad or diverse types of firms that appear to support that facility," said John Scott, district director of the U.S. Small Business Association. "I don't see a proliferation of (high-tech) businesses."
Research parks aren't easy projects to get off the ground. They are costly, don't turn profits right away and rely on the university to have a strong research base, said Charlie Dilks, past president of the Association of University Research Parks.
"I think that most research parks do not have a financial return as their immediate objective," Dilks said. "What they want is a good way to get good inventions out on the market instead of sitting on a professor's shelf."
UNLV has no estimates on the cost of the park, since plans are in the early stages. University of Delaware spent more than $2 million starting a research park. University of Nebraska at Lincoln spent $60 million.
Some universities have invested millions on such projects only to have the parks fail, especially during the 1990s. Most failures were due to insufficient financing and poor planning.
Nevada's largely unskilled work force is a potential impediment. Research parks mostly rely on a highly skilled labor forces like those in San Jose, Calif., and Seattle, said Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV.
"There's been a lot of discussion about becoming the silicone desert," Schwer said. "There is the possibility of people with high-tech backgrounds coming here. But if you look at the Silicon Valley, there is a lot of potential for networking there. If you break away from Las Vegas, you don't have that."
Supporters of the project hope that the lure of a cheaper tax base and lower real estate prices will prompt people to move here.
If the research park is set up the right way, one Reid aide said, the workers will come.
"We have been working on this project with UNLV for two years," said Jerry Reynoldson, regional manager for Reid. "We will continue to move forward to get this project done."
Reid's bill is presently before the Senate. It is doubtful a vote will take place before Congress adjourns in December.
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