Stadium Authority Board temporarily hires research firm at inaugural meeting

The board — tasked with choosing the site and approving contracts for a planned $1.9 billion domed stadium — met for a little longer than 90 minutes at UNLV’s Stan Fulton Building. Board members unanimously agreed to pay Applied Analysis for its work by the hour, not to exceed $25,000 a month.

“If it goes over that amount we’re responsible for it,” said Jeremy Aguero, a principal analyst with Applied Analysis.

The firm has been involved with efforts to build a 65,000-seat stadium in Clark County for the past 18 months and guided the proposal through the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee and Nevada Legislature.

The project will be funded in-part with $650 million from the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson and $500 million from the Oakland Raiders, the NFL team in talks to move to Las Vegas.

Clark County will bond another $750 million, money it plans to pay back with a hotel room tax increase that goes into effect Jan. 1. Excess revenue from the tax increase will fund the Stadium Authority Board’s operating budget.

“It seems like it should be a historic day, but it also seems like the next step in a process we’ve been working on for over a year now,” said Steve Hill, stadium board chairman.

The board’s charter allows it to meet for 12 months, with an ability to extend that for six more months.

The board will become permanent once the NFL authorizes a team to come to Las Vegas. If that doesn’t happen, the board would dissolve and a new board would be formed to oversee a proposed stadium for UNLV.

Clark County has offered the board a bridge loan to cover the board’s first few months of operations. The loan’s exact amount will be discussed at the board’s next meeting.

The board’s cost of operations, which state law stipulates cannot exceed $1 million before the county issues bonds, should include paying Applied Analysis and hiring legal representation to negotiate the stadium’s development and operating agreements.

The Clark County district attorney’s office will represent the board for all other legal matters.

On Monday, board members postponed selecting a vice chairman and secretary until the remaining two members of the nine-person board are chosen.

Board members voted to accept applications for the two empty seats from the public at large until Dec. 19, in addition to considering recommendations from Las Vegas Sands Corp. and from the Raiders.

The board did not discuss where the stadium will be built. The leading contenders are either the 140-acre Bali Hai Golf Club or a 62-acre area northwest of Russell Road and Interstate 15.

During public comment, local real estate developer Fred Nassiri offered 66 acres he owns in the northwest corner of Blue Diamond Road and Las Vegas Boulevard as a third potential site.

Nassiri said the site has multiple access routes to Interstate 15 and would have less of an impact on traffic than the other two sites.

“Where are you going to put 65,000 people… how are you not going to have gridlock?” he asked.

Board member Bill Hornbuckle attended Monday’s meeting via phone. Hornbuckle, president of MGM Resorts International, was in Maryland attending the grand opening of MGM National Harbor hotel-casino.

Tommy White, board member and the head of Laborers Union Local 872, was absent from the meeting due to a family emergency, a spokeswoman for Hill’s office said.

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

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

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