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By Dave Toplikar (contact) 
Friday, Nov. 12, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Oscar Goodman
Sun archives
- Mayor hints that ‘awe-inspiring’ project on way for Las Vegas’ Symphony Park (11-3-2010)
- Mayor envisions underground walkway/mall to Symphony Park (9-16-2010)
- Mayor: American League team says no to Las Vegas (8-26-2010)
- Mayor: Without public funding for arena, Las Vegas won't get NBA team (7-22-2010)
- Mayor skeptical about NBA ‘contract’ for proposed Strip arena (7-15-2010)
- NBA team ‘under contract’ if Las Vegas builds an arena (7-14-2010)
- Strip sports arena has very little support (6-10-2010)
- MGM Mirage opposes arena options seeking public financing (5-18-2010)
- County wants arena details, says public money unlikely (4-6-2010)
- Cowboys Stadium poses Texas-sized threat to Vegas (3-21-2010)
- Jerry Jones says Cowboys, NFL will lift boxing (3-9-2010)
- New arena plans promise jobs but seek public money (3-4-2010)
- Rodeo rustler? Tourism officials worry Dallas Cowboys owner could steal Vegas event (3-4-2010)
- City OKs plan to study downtown arena, entertainment district (11-4-2009)
- Cordish projects include sports-anchored developments (11-4-2009)
- Goodman: 20,000-seat downtown arena could lure NBA team (10-29-09)
The stage appears set for the Las Vegas City Council to announce a sports arena/entertainment district at Symphony Park.
At the council’s Wednesday meeting, the city is expected to formally shift efforts to build an arena from near the current City Hall, at Fourth Street and Stewart Avenue, to the 61-acre site west of downtown. Mayor Oscar Goodman has indicated a major announcement concerning Symphony Park would be made in the next few weeks.
If an arena becomes part of the plan for the site, which for a decade has been the focus of the city’s dreams of a new downtown, it would have come full circle from the early plans for the former Union Pacific rail yard.
Symphony Park is home to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, which was completed in May and sits on the park’s southwest corner, and the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which is under construction and is expected to be finished in spring 2012.
The City Council is scheduled to vote on an agreement that would allow the arena developer, the Cordish Cos., to shift development to Symphony Park.
When it struck the deal, the city wanted Cordish to look at the feasibility of putting a resort on the existing City Hall and parking garage site, and an entertainment district and arena on 12 acres at the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Stewart Avenue. “Both parties now view Symphony Park as the more ideal location,” the city said in a news release this week.
“The Symphony Park site is simply viewed as more advantageous and more cost-effective, significantly increasing the project’s overall potential for success,” Goodman said in the release.
Although it’s unclear what will become of plans for the City Hall property if the move occurs, one advantage of developing in Symphony Park is that it is undeveloped land. New infrastructure can be tailored to whatever is needed, eliminating the cost of tearing out and reconfiguring infrastructure.
“Furthermore, moving the arena will increase our city’s ability to attract a major league team, which will complete my vision of bringing big league sports, academic medicine and a performing arts center to our downtown area,” Goodman said.
Symphony Park is within the city’s redevelopment area, which makes projects within it eligible for tax-increment financing. Such financing gives it a leg up over other proposed arena projects seeking public financing.
Backers of the Silver State arena supported by Harrah’s Entertainment this week announced they had gathered more than 200,000 signatures statewide to either have the 2011 Legislature take up the matter or put it on the state’s 2012 ballot. The petition calls for an increase of 0.9 percent in the sales and use tax to build an arena with at least 18,000 seats to accommodate NBA or NHL teams. The tax would be imposed in a gaming enterprise district on the Strip.
Last week, the City Council and its Symphony Park project manager, Newland Real Estate Group, struck a new agreement that gives the city more flexibility on what can be developed on three properties initially planned for residential use.
The properties are formally knows as Parcel D (valued at $3.4 million), Parcel F ($3.7 million) and Parcel O-1 ($2.5 million). They are just to the south of Parcel E, the site of the 52-story World Jewelry Center.
After the city acquired the property now known as Symphony Park, it began a series of planning efforts and negotiations that in 2001 included Goodman calling it an ideal venue for big league sports.
The mentally retarded super jock supporters are shifting tactics now insisting the arena for sports be in Symphony Park. Has anyone even considered the congestion this will cause of the nearby Main Street, Charleston or I-15? If this arena only holds 18-20,000 patrons it will be a financial flop from the beginning. What national and professional sports team will move here for that small an arena when they want really big superdome facilities capable of holding 50,000 or more? We have clowns running the city of Las Vegas. It would be far better to buy a giant circus tent to house whatever it is they want to support in Symphony Park. My Goodness we are the dumbest city in America! Stop embarassing us and move on to something of real importance like reducing taxes or improving our roads and traffic signal system... You politicians and sports fanatics are really dumb...Ed Sullivan would have showcased you as the 'dumbest in America!"
vsestini...
DEEP BREATH. Hold it, hold it, BREATH OUT. Good!
Average seating capacity of an NBA arena; 18,000.
You have a wonderful point, however, about improving our traffic signal system... a blind 6 year-old child would have better success than whoever designed and implemented the current one. It seems as though it was designed to work as innificiently as possible, thereby raising one's blood pressure, causing drivers to act even more irrationally than is otherwise typical for Las Vegas... and that is NOT GOOD.
Not a good idea!
C:\Documents and Settings\System User\My Documents\stadium.mht
Stop! Tear down the T&M at UNLV and build an arena their. This would replace an aging facility and give the university a much needed boost.
vsestini,
I am going to agree with you about the traffic but you are way off base on the seating size. No NBA stadium holds 50,000 or even close to that. You will never fill it.
As far as the T & M, would be nice to replace it but that would mean tax payer money since that is government.
There will be no tax payer money going into a stadium in this town. The tax payers will not stand for it.
I also have a lot trouble believing they have any team willing to come here. This town only supports sports in the sports book, not in the stands.
Usually what sets great American cities apart from so-so American cities are the Arts (Symphony Park & Cultural Corridor) and their ability to sustain a pro sports team. We have a thriving art scene but aside from Rebel Basketball we've got nothing in the way of sports.
I just find it hard to believe that Buffalo (BUFFALO!) has two pro sports teams and we have zilch. If such a facility were to be built w/out tax payers' money, I can see a huge economic upswing for that part of town and some side benefits for the rest of the city--revenue, more jobs, constant free marketing on ESPN.
It *could* be glorious but like anything else 'round here, it's a gamble :: cough ::
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Would the Rebels play there?
please. this is nothing more than mr. goodman trying to make his buddies in the concrete and construction industry rich from building the thing. there is ZERO economic evidence that a pro sports team would work in vegas.
if it WOULD work...we would have one.
I was born and raised in Las Vegas, I've been here for 73 years. I have seen many attempts to attract and retain sports teams from Hi-li to baseball to socker to horse and dog racing. This town will not support any sports team for the long haul. Rodeo.NASCAR and boxing are momentary, short term sports lasting a days at most, not seasons and years of seasons. We've lost Championship Bowling, Tennis and The Tournament of Champions Golf as well. We used to have a number of big time golf tournaments, where are they now? I a certain attendance and local interest had a lot to do with their demise. Such stadia and arenas as being planned are doomed white elephants from the day the blue print ink dries. Exhibition NBA games can fill the T&M but for how many consecutive days, weeks, months and seasons would such a team fill another arena? If Las Vegas ended up with an NBA team and it became a loser, who would come here to see them play, how many locals would waste valuable dollars to see them play? No taxpayer funds will be used? Wanna bet on that one? P.T. Barnum said it best,"There's a sucker born every minute."; If this comes to fuition all of us will all be suckers caught with a big bill. Let's set our priorities for the welfare of all, not just a few superjock fanatics and greedy money mongers. I get a headache thinking about the traffic problems that will result...that alone is enough to make me disgusted with our politicians.
Will the building of a sports arena and its necessary parking facilities in this area take away from the acerage promised to Forest City for their new hotel/casino that the city is giving them in exchange for building the new unnecessary city hall building?
Read my lips: Not one tax dollar for any arena, stadium or spots facility! Good God! Will "Mighty Mouth" Goodman ever come out of his alcoholic stupor long enough to use some common sense?
...with what?