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Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013 | 2:03 a.m.
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Boosters of the proposed UNLV stadium have run an impressive PR campaign to obtain state funding for their project. For the past few months, UNLV’s Don Snyder and Neal Smatresk and others have repeatedly appeared on TV, hyping the stadium by touting the report of their supposedly independent consultant.
The report projects that the stadium will provide millions of dollars to UNLV academic programs and millions more for the Las Vegas economy. And it assures us that everything in our community will get better as soon as the stadium is built. All that will be needed, we were told, is legislation for a special taxing district to provide for some of the construction costs.
Surprise! Surprise! Snyder now advises that we must plan for the possibility that money from the special taxing district may not be enough. The extra money that may be required will necessitate a modest hotel room tax increase in case a few more dollars are required.
Does anyone think these guys just found out how much the stadium will cost or how much the taxing district will generate? I certainly don’t. I hope the Legislature sees through this charade and tells the UNLV Now group to figure out another way to finance its boondoggle.
Obama can make this a stimulus project
Does anyone really care
"About one fifth of the people are against everything all the time." - Robert F. Kennedy
The final cost will be twice, at least, of the estimated initial price. All the disguise about special tax districts is a clever cover up. These kinds of sports arenas always end up costing taxpayers, who pay the revenue short fall, more than the private investment plus events' takein. Always. Recall what a consultant is: Someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time and then charges you for it.
CarmineD
Let's do something radical. Let's turn UNLV into a world class educational institution. Better than MIT Cal Tech Stanford Cambridge Oxford Harvard Yale. No sports.
Four years ago Reno and Washoe County went into hock for a baseball stadium to attract a specific minor-league team. The team owners have now decided that they messed up - their original profit projections were unrealistic. Now the city and county must pony up another $45 million over 20 years to keep the team.
Do I think UNLV should be permitted to go ahead? I have no opinion and am not entitled to one anyway. However - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.