Clark County commissioners appoint 3 diverse members to stadium authority board
Clark County commissioners selected a union leader, an African-American business leader and a woman casino executive to serve on the board that will select the site and oversee planning for a $1.9 billion stadium proposed as the new home of the National Football League’s Oakland Raiders.
Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved the appointments of Tommy White, the head of Laborers Union Local 872; Ken Evans, president of the Urban Chamber of Commerce; and Jan Jones Blackhurst, former mayor of Las Vegas and an executive with Caesars Entertainment Corp.
The Clark County Stadium Authority board of directors, which will contract on behalf of the proposed 65,000-seat domed public facility, now has seven members. They are expected to fill the remaining two seats next month.
Gov. Brian Sandoval appointed Steve Hill, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, to chair the board.
Hill said Tuesday that the seven board members are coordinating schedules for the first meeting, which probably will occur the week of Nov. 28. At that meeting, Hill, who chaired the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, said the seven members would discuss the process of filling the last two spots on the board.
Hill praised the “excellent appointments” the commission made and tweeted, “(I) appreciate their willingness to serve and look forward to working together.”
White and Evans were selected from a pool of nearly 100 applicants.
Blackhurst was chosen from a list of six nominees submitted by Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, the two companies that generate the most hotel room tax revenue in Southern Nevada.
White and Blackhurst were among the speakers at an October rally supporting the stadium plan prior to a special session of the Nevada Legislature.
Evans was nominated by Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who flipped a coin to determine whether he was going to offer his name or Louis Overstreet, a longtime civic leader and former executive director of the Urban Chamber.
White, 50, said his background working in a union would serve the board well.
“I’ve been doing agreements in this town for over 20 years,” he said. “I think between diversity agreement, minority agreements (and) construction agreements, we’ve done them all.”
Evans, 53, said his primary goals on the board will be twofold.
“It’ll be to make sure that we end up with the quality, world class facility when it’s all said and done,” he said. “The second thing that I’ll be concerned about is just ensuring that there’s diversity and inclusion in terms of the development opportunities, the procurement opportunities, as well as once the stadium is actually built, diversity and inclusion in terms of the ongoing operations of the facility.”
Blackhurst, 67, has had a lengthy history of serving on public boards and was Las Vegas mayor from 1991 to 1999.
“I’m honored to have been selected to serve on this board,” Blackhurst said. “I think that the opportunity the stadium presents to Las Vegas is extraordinary, and after spending the last 25 years finding ways to improve our community, I’m excited to be a part of taking this next step.”
Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani urged the seven members of the board to consider applicants with diverse backgrounds when they select the final two members.
In addition to Hill, Sandoval last week appointed Dallas Haun, chief executive officer of Nevada State Bank, and Bill Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts International, to the board.
Mike Newcomb, the executive director of the Thomas & Mack Center, Sam Boyd Stadium and the Cox Pavilion, is a designated voting member from UNLV through the legislation that formed the board.
Clark County Treasurer Laura Fitzpatrick also will serve as a non-voting member.
Board members do not receive any compensation.
The stadium will be partially funded by $750 million in room-tax revenue and a $650 million contribution from the family of Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson. An additional $500 million would come from the Raiders.
On Oct. 17, the governor signed Senate Bill 1 into law, mandating an increase in Clark County’s hotel room tax to finance about $750 million for the stadium. Commissioners on Tuesday also approved measures to increase the tax.
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Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter. Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.