Las Vegas City Council delays decision on soccer stadium

By Conor Shine

Published Monday, Dec. 1, 2014 | 2:07 p.m.

Updated Monday, Dec. 1, 2014 | 5:15 p.m.

The Las Vegas City Council voted today to extend the deadline until Dec. 17 to decide on a financing plan for a proposed downtown soccer stadium.

Without the extension, the council would have had to make a decision on the $200 million stadium today.

The extension was passed on a 4-3 vote, with council members Bob Beers, Stavros Anthony and Lois Tarkanian in opposition.

City staff will bring revised financial terms to the council on Dec. 17, after the council rejected a previous financing plan in October.

Full details of the new terms haven't been released, but the new financing plan is expected to call for the city to issue $50 million in bonds. About $20 million to $25 million would go toward funding the stadium in the form of prepaid rent for community events the city would host there. The rest would go to several park projects around the city.

The bonds would be paid off over 30 years using $3 million annually in city room tax revenues to cover the principal and interest.

Las Vegas would also be responsible for at least $14 million in infrastructure costs and the cost of the land at Symphony Park. Finally, the city would use $20 million in funds from a tourism improvement district to build a new parking garage to serve the stadium and other Symphony Park tenants.

The initial financing plan that was rejected by the council called for the city to issue $115 million in bonds to pay for construction, which would be paid off by revenues from the stadium.

If the council approves the new terms, city staff and the development partnership of Cordish Cos. and Findlay Sports and Entertainment would have about two months to put together a development agreement.

If the council votes no, the stadium’s progress likely would stop and end the project’s chances of becoming reality.

No stadium will be built unless Major League Soccer grants an expansion franchise to Las Vegas, a decision not expected until early 2015. Las Vegas is competing with Minneapolis and Sacramento, Calif., for the expansion franchise.

If Las Vegas is not awarded the franchise, the stadium will not be built.