Decision expected on sports arena before two-year deadline

Mayor expecting developer’s feasibility study sooner than agreement allows

Justin M. Bowen

City Hall now sits where Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman wants to build a new casino/hotel. It’s also adjacent to where he envisions a new downtown sports arena and entertainment district.

By Dave Toplikar (contact)

Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009 | 1:30 p.m.

City to Study Downtown Arena Plans

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The Las Vegas City Council votes 6-0 vote to approve an agreement with the Cordish Co. of Baltimore, noted for its downtown development expertise around the country, to study the prospects of building a sports arena, a casino/hotel and an entertainment district on about 20 acres that includes the existing city hall.

Oscar Goodman

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The buzzer sounds in two years on a study looking into whether Las Vegas' downtown will get a new sports arena.

But the developer given exclusive rights Wednesday to look into the arena likely will know well before that, Mayor Oscar Goodman said today.

"I would like for them to conclude that we could start virtually immediately if I had my druthers and I had my wishes," Goodman said at his weekly press conference today.

On Wednesday, the City Council approved a two-year agreement with the Cordish Companies Inc. that gives the Baltimore-based developer exclusive rights to study and plan a sports arena, a casino-hotel and an entertainment district downtown.

"It's not as if they're starting from scratch and drawing up plans," he said. "They have a real idea as to what they want to accomplish here."

The agreement calls for Cordish to study an arena that would have the capacity to seat at least 18,000 — and the mayor hopes it would lead to the city scoring an NBA or NHL franchise for Las Vegas.

The hotel-casino would be the first one built downtown since Fitzgerald's (formerly the Sundance) in 1979.

The entire development would be on 20 acres of city-owned property that includes the 7.75 acres where the existing city hall and parking garage now sit at Stewart Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Under the plan, Cordish put up a $100,000 good faith deposit and the city agreed to put up $150,000 to pay for third-party studies and reports. Cordish will pay for expenses beyond that amount.

Goodman said he didn't have a particular date set up for Cordish to report back formally to the city council on the status of the project. But he and his staff talk to Cordish representatives frequently.

"I have a phone call in to them today," Goodman said.

He said he considers himself a friend of the Cordish family, including David Cordish, and his three sons who are active in urban developments around the country.

"They're out there working right now," Goodman said. "These are responsible business people and they wouldn't be wasting their time unless they were very, very serious about."

Discussion: 4 comments so far…

By vc

11/5/09 at 3:05 p.m.

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I like the idea of an arena however I disagree with tearing down a perfectly good city hall. I like the mayor but the idea we need to throw a bunch of money at a new city hall is just ridiculous.
By revtomperl

11/5/09 at 3:43 p.m.

Suggest removal

Look at posts elsewhere - this appears to be a project which will be negative towards a bunch of private venues. And it will reward a bunch of very slick characters.
By perry161492

11/5/09 at 4:21 p.m.

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mayor should worry about some how to diversify this city then building this arena
By newman2

11/5/09 at 6:34 p.m.

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Let it be built...it is part of diversifying.