Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 | 2:01 a.m.
Another view?
View more of the Las Vegas Sun's opinion section:
• Editorials - the Sun's viewpoint.
• Columnists - local and syndicated writers.
• Letters to the editor - readers' views.
Have your own opinion? Write a letter to the editor.
When will the administration at UNLV and the other people of influence in this town understand how offensive it is to a lot of the locals to wake up to a headline shouting “UNLV promotes stadium plan”?
I’ve lived in this town for 29 years and this kind of hubris still amazes me. For the university’s part, the members of the administration backing this plan should be ashamed. Don’t they realize what it sounds like proposing to spend $800 million in taxpayer money on a “mega-events” center while complaining about the negative effect the austerity diet imposed by the Legislature has had on the ability of UNLV to properly serve the community? It is nothing short of shameful of them to shill for developers who seem to think “the larger the project, the easier it will be to sell to the public.” I suppose this is based on the theory that the lack of something this grandiose is hurting Las Vegas’ image.
I’m guessing that every funding source the developer approached with this ill-advised scheme found it too risky to consider. Why then should our elected representatives be so dumb as to consider making the developers rich at the taxpayers’ expense? Aren’t they aware that “build it and they will come” was only a movie? Where will it all end?
Please stop whining
It's just a mega economic development
Who needs jobs away
The recession is in negative space
---
It will happen OR it won't
Can't you get by this terrible situation
The mega events center proposal is emblematic of what goes on everywhere, including in Washington DC. Powerful interests who would benefit from some kind of 'spending' proposed it to our elected representatives. Even though it is ill timed in a terrible economy and the only way it makes sense is with private financing, our elected representatives still consider allocating public money to help fund it.
Until we stop rewarding our elected representatives with re-election and basically ignoring their terrible decisions, we will continue to get exactly what we deserve.
Michael
Whatever the original costs estimates are said to be, the final price tag will be AT LEAST double those. Factor that reality into the equation when you're defending/opposing it.
CarmineD
John Henry Brebbia,
Who made the decision to build the stadium? UNLV President/administration in conjunction with the city leaders or the building contractors? I would suggest aiming your concern at UNLV leadership.
We support higher education but realize that education costs are out of control. There are ways to cut college costs. I went to a community college my first two years then to the University of Texas my last two years.
Community colleges are a cost saver to those on a budget.
I noticed this article John a few weeks ago titled "Stephen Trachtenberg Is Not Sorry". He is the ex-president of George Washington University. This is an interesting perspective on why tuition costs have increased so dramatically over the years at some universities.
Here is an excerpt:
"Since Trachtenberg took over in 1988, he had boosted the school's endowment from $250 million to $1 billion and built many state-of-the-art facilities, such as computer and research labs. The profusion of comforts didn't just stimulate students' minds; it also fulfilled their every whim--a change that drew a more selective, more intelligent group of applicants and sent the admission rate plummeting from 75% to 37%. "It was a very soothing, very beautiful experience and gave me a great sense of satisfaction about my tenure as president," Trachtenberg wrote in his memoir, Big Man on Campus.
Trachtenberg's students funded this triumph. When he became president, they paid $25,000 (in today's dollars) in tuition, room, and board to attend; by the time he retired, they paid $51,000.
Trachtenberg made George Washington the most expensive school in the nation. The burst of cash powered his agenda, but the freshmen who borrowed to enroll--46 percent of the class--during his final year graduated with an average of $28,000 of debt.
Trachtenberg also set a trend that other colleges--first his private competitors, then universities across the country--felt compelled to follow. Today, George Washington is only the 21st most expensive school, and the average American student accumulates $24,300 of debt earning her diploma. Collectively, Americans hold more student-loan debt than credit-card debt, and graduates enter a world where more than half of them are jobless or underemployed".
John, the UNLV university leaders need to ensure education costs are affordable. The stadium cost and continual year around maintenance better not negatively impact the cost of higher education to Las Vegas high school grads and their families. We will be watching the impact to higher education costs closely while reviewing the impact of the stadium on UNLV student enrollment.
http://www.nationaljournal.com/features/...
The writer is correct that the stadium may be a case of misplaced priorities. Is education the mission of UNLV or is it sports and entertainment?
Crazy!
People who want to blame the UNLV administration for wanting the mega events center should re-evaluate. They want to enhance the University and they believe the mega events center will do that. I'm fine with that although I disagree with their priorities.
Here's the real problem. Any mega events center here in Las Vegas, whether it be on the UNLV campus or elsewhere, seems unable to be built without taxpayer funds.
I have to really question the intelligence and character of people, especially our elected officials, who think that spending tax dollars on a mega event center in this city, in this economy, at this time, is a 'wise' use of taxpayer funds.
Any elected official who supports this use of tax payer dollars will not get my vote.
Michael
The smell test of any local civic investment is, after posting here a couple of years, to me anyway, is that if the deal was worthy, Freeman, DiFazio, Casler, and the rest of the morning brigade would be invisible here and lining up at the starting line waiting to invest a chunk of their retirement funds in the new stadium.
If they are here whining, it has got to be a real horrible deal.
Count me out too.
It makes far more sense then a monorail that doesn't go to the airport or a train to Victorville.
Anchorbine:
Amen! Can't disagree with you there unless I owned a cab company!!!
Have you heard anything about Reno's stadium boondoggle?
Really is to bad that the letter writer did not pay attention to the details.
This does not involve $800 million in taxpayer money. It involves no local taxpayer money at all and no cost to UNLV except property.
As long as they are not hitting on us for the money let them build it. It can't hurt.
It is too bad that vegaslee does not see that getting taxes thru businesses in the new tax zone IS taking away revenue from the city and state. It is increasing the cost of a room for visitors and skimming off sales tax revenue. To me that is the very definition of taxpayer funding, be they Nevadans or Californians.
"This does not involve $800 million in taxpayer money. It involves no local taxpayer money at all and no cost to UNLV except property." @ vegaslee
From the article in the RJ about the Stadium:
"Then there's the question of who should pay. Stadium projects like this are called public-private partnerships, but the public usually shoulders most of the cost - $2 for each "private" $1."
It was too lengthy to post the article here. Read it. The Nevada assembly was asked to establish a "tax district" for the stadium complex in the future to defray costs to build. Monies will be collected from the events' attendees in the form of taxes to defray the $800-$900 Million price tag. Go back and read my post above about the initial and final costs fro projects like these. The final cost will be twice the original amount, AT LEAST.
CarmineD
You stated it yourself Carmine.
"Monies will be collected from the events' attendees in the form of taxes to defray the $800-$900 Million price tag."
Those using the project will pay for it. The type of district they are talking about is they will get to keep property taxes, sales tax, entertainment taxes from the project to help pay for it. They are not coming to you with their hand out wanting to raise your taxes in anyway.
Betting you are correct on the cost. Most projects end up costing more than first stated. As long as they set it up so that local tax payers are not on the hook for it I don't see a problem here.