Stadium debate heats up; Seminole Tribe ousts boss

 

While it looked for a moment like the wheels were greased for an NFL stadium on the Las Vegas Strip, financed primarily by hotel-room taxes, there’s a bit less certainty today. For one thing, Sheldon Adelson either assumed or demanded that [your city here] Raiders owner Mark Davis give him a piece of the team in return for $650 million in stadium financing. Davis wasn’t having any of that. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who might be less than thrilled to have a casino mogul among the league’s owners, pointedly reminded everyone that Davis needed 24 votes out of 32 in order to move the team. Pressure to keep the Raiders in Oakland is ramping up, as former team CEO Amy Trask is making the rounds with a scheme that would keep a new stadium from being a budget-busting proposition. Among the many facets of Trask’s concept would be to save money by leaving off the third deck of seats and thus “eliminate the cost of the portion of the stadium that is the hardest to monetize.”

In a case of dueling endorsements, the Nevada Taxpayers Association came out with a firm “no” on the stadium proposal. In response, the Nevada Resort Association said, “Tourism is the core business in Nevada … [a stadium] will create thousands of jobs and generate millions of dollars in economic activity while increasing visitation and adding a sandoval_t178new dimension to the visitor experience.” Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) has already authorized an early October special session of the Legislature to ponder the stadium issue, no doubt feeling the pressure of Davis’ itchy trigger finger. (Incidentally, Sandoval announced today that Nevada has regained all of the jobs lost during the Great Recession,) As for Adelson’s commitment to bankroll any cost overruns, news reports go back and forth but Caesars Entertainment ultra-lobbyist Jan Jones Blackhurst says Sheldon is still good for the money. “I don’t think there will be any operating losses because there are so many different uses for this facility: soccer games, exhibition games, UNLV games, Raider games, concerts, boxing matches,” she said, adding, “I continue to be surprised at some of the public response to what very clearly is a community arena. People forget that we have not had a major investment in Las Vegas tourism infrastructure in almost a decade.” I guess T-Mobile Arena was just piffle, huh?

The churchy set — in the form of Nevadans for the Public Good — also threw in its two cents against the stadium plan. Among its manifold objections is the intent to impose the costs of building it on the public dime, then privatizing the profits. There is also some concern over predicating the stadium on 33-year bonds without tying the Raiders down with a lease of comparable duration. Furthermore, if room revenues aren’t enough to pay the bonds, Nevada taxpayers will be hit up for the shortfall. Not only could the bonds hamstring Clark County‘s ability to invest in infrastructure, they’re premised on a revenue source that would be highly vulnerable to another recession. Stadium backers pooh-pooh such worries, saying they can book 46 events a year into their grand edifice, although how they arrived at that number is something they’re keeping to themselves.

* Controversial Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman James Billie is back in the news again — and out of office. The tribal council voted to show him the door but was chary with specifics for the move. When pressed for details on the “various issues and procedures” in question, tribal spokesman Gary Bitner replied, “The tribe considers this an internal Seminole logomatter and is not going to be more specific or elaborate beyond what was said yesterday.” The change in leadership comes as the tribe is still without a compact with the State of Florida, although it is unclear how Billie’s removal will affect relations with Gov. Rick Scott (R). The two parties have to arrive at a new compact, their 2016 version having expired of neglect in the Legislature.

The lack of a compact has already adversely impacted Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, in Tampa, which was scheduled for a $650 million expansion. Now the tribe will settle for a new poker room, 30,000 more square feet of casino floor and 750 extra parking spots. An additional $1 billion-plus in investment in the tribe’s Hollywood Hard Rock casino appears to be off the table indefinitely. Meanwhile, the state and tribe are expected to butt heads in federal court early next week, as Scott tries to shut down the Seminoles’ blackjack games, left in limbo by the expiry of former Gov. Charlie Crist‘s compact with the tribe.

* A “reasonably consistent” September is forecast for Macao by MGM China CEO Grant Bowie. He cited “quite positive” Golden Week tourism and “positive” occupancy levels, while conceding that holiday periods weren’t what they used to be. But, if September business improves on last year, “particularly in the mass market – I think everyone will be happy.” Bowie also took issue with a proposed ban on casino play by croupiers, arguing that it was a criminal-science approach to a problem-gambling issue. “I think it’s a social issue. It needs to be managed,” he said, adding that Macao’s low unemployment rate was making it hard to find workers for MGM Cotai. While Bowie pronounced himself confident in the long term, it has to be said that a high employment rate is a nice problem to have.

This entry was posted in California, Economy, Florida, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, Macau, MGM Mirage, Politics, Seminole Tribe, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Taxes, The Strip. Bookmark the permalink.