Downtown Vegas Soccer Stadium?

Heynow Gamblers.....

Curious as to what's up, I see a lot of opposition articles. I see they are trying to get it on the next ballot.

Is it a neighborhood dispute or a public fund/ private business thing, or ?

 

Not knowing much about the soccer part (I thought it was a baseball, then football, then baseball) stadium, I think it would be a good thing for the downtown area. Especially if it is a domed stadium or arena. It could drive some conventions into Vegas proper and give downtown a nice economic boost. Maybe so much so that some of the casinos with closed hotels will spruce them up and reopen the rooms.

MODERATOR NOTE:
This topic could very easily turn political. If you feel the need to do that, there are other places on the Internet to discuss politics, and we suggest you post those comments there.

 

I think the concern by the citizens that initiated the petition is that if you look back a couple years there were zero professional arenas in Las Vegas and only Cashman field for the 51's (publicly owned I believe), a minor league team. Now MGM is building a huge arena for supposedly an NHL team but that's not a sure thing. In comes an outside group with not enough moolah and they need a partner with somebody that has land and that happens to be the City of Las Vegas who is always looking to develop unused areas. Many question the need for an arena period, never mind a public private partnership. Others see it as jobs and future growth.

But to invest money means you have to get it (taxes) and/or take it away from somewhere else (LVRJ references local parks).

That pretty much sums it up without getting into the politics of it (go to www.lvrj.com for the current status). There are always two sides to an argument and as the moderator here says that's probably best left off the VMB.

 

I'll say this, soccer-specific stadiums can be a much better investment than a lot of larger arena projects. They're usually in the 20,000-25,000 range, which is big enough to attract major events, but not so huge that you need to be able to attract 100,000 people to make it worthwhile. However, while I think a lot of cities could benefit from venues like that, Vegas is somewhat unusual in that most of its primary spaces are in that range already. The new MGM-AEG arena is going to be about 20,000 seats (as is the existing Thomas & Mack Center), the MGM Grand Garden Arena is about 17,000, Mandalay Bay Events Center is about 12,000, and Orleans Arena is about 10,000. I'm just not sure Vegas needs more mid-sized venues.

Also, Chris Milam better not be involved with this.

 

Thanks for the replies.........I was just curious, seemed like it might be a good thing for that area and the downtown hotels. Like Piggylane said, always two sides ( or more).

 

It passed on a 4-3 vote at the Las Vegas City Council, so no slam dunk. One of the prime opponents, Councilman Bob Beers decided to spearhead the petition to have it put on a ballot. He's a sharp guy and know's you can get a certain number of people (8,000+ needed) to be against just about anything. The proposed "public" money would come from room-tax revenue and nothing else, which means if you're a local... unless you spend time in area motels/hotels, you won't pay a dime towards this. To be fair though, it would not be all new room-tax money, meaning some would be shifted from parks and other existing obligations that currently receive some of these funds.

Several renditions of the proposal went before the Council, with far greater public investment. The last one, which passed, put more of the burden in sponsor's lap and less on the public. Mayor Goodman seems to have lost her senses on this one and has blindly supported anything and everything from the beginning. Other council members have come "on-board" as the city's obligation has been significantly reduced in subsequent proposal drafts. The MSL (soccer league) has yet to award a franchise to Las Vegas and the city is competing with proposals from Sacramento and Minneapolis (I think is the other).

This would NOT be a domed stadium and many rightly question how fun watching a soccer game in 112 degree heat might be, given the soccer season. The proposal of course only really pencils-out with significant and I mean significant attendance. Many point out that Las Vegas has a history of not supporting much, other than the UNLV Rebels in their late 80's early 90's heyday. Personally, I think that latest rendition minimizes the public's risk and has the potential to be a quality asset to the area, though I sincerely doubt it will withstand a public vote.

Note: Hope I was informative without crossing the political line on this post.

 

Field of Schemes is an excellent website to follow the latest news related to publicly financed stadiums.

In the latest development reported by the Las Vegas Sun, the citizens trying to get a referendum related to this boondoggle on the ballot for taxpayers to approve or reject were initially told they must gather 2,308 signatures, then were told the clerk made a "miscalculation" and that 8,258 signatures were required.

Love how these clowns who cannot grasp the simple mathematical calculations required to determine ballot access can somehow accurately assess the economic value and "benefits" of this latest scheme for their constituents.

 

Update: MLS to Vegas Drop Dead

I support the privately funded MGM arena, would support a privately funded MLS stadium.

 

There are no published reports yet, but the fresh rumor coming off the heels of MLS rejecting the current Las Vegas bid is that the investors may try a different approach. They may attempt to start and secure a stadium for a USL (3rd division) team with the hopes of transitioning that team to MLS sometime after 2020. This is the path that Vancouver, Montreal, Portland, and Orlando have taken to get to MLS and what Sacramento is currently attempting (and will probably be successful) to do.