Giunchigliani places stadium plan on Tuesday County Commission agenda

Clark County commissioners will receive a report on the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee and a proposed football stadium at their Tuesday meeting.

The item was added to the meeting agenda Thursday at the request of Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani.

“We never had a (stadium) discussion as the board of county commissioners,” Giunchigliani said. “If we’re using county bonds in order to fund a public-private proposal we should know what is our bonding capacity, what will that impact, what other programs may we not be able to do if our bonding is tied up into this proposed stadium.”

While the agenda item states commissioners may “take any action deemed appropriate” after receiving the report, Giunchigliani said she has no suggested action to propose at this time.

On Thursday, SNTIC’s 11 members unanimously approved $750 million in public funding for the $1.9 billion project. The public funds would be generated by raising the county’s existing hotel room tax.

The stadium could relocate an NFL franchise — the Oakland Raiders — to Las Vegas. It is being championed by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson, Majestic Realty and the Raiders.

Giunchigliani opposes spending public money for the project.

“I don’t think we should be publically financing any stadium,” she said. “Not one publically financed stadium in the United States has ended up benefitting the public.”

Giunchigliani said she plans to reiterate her opposition at the commission meeting, but she said it was a “complete coincidence” that she requested a report on the stadium be added to the agenda on the same day SNTIC approved the funding plan.

“We really ought to be informed and we’re not,” she said of the stadium plans. “I don’t know how any of it works other than what I read online.”

Tuesday’s commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Clark County Government Center, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.