Convention authority approves $7 million land purchase

Former Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid left the boardroom on Tuesday smiling.

At its April meeting, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's board of directors unanimously authorized a $7 million purchase of four parcels at 806-820 Sierra Vista Drive, measuring 1.4 acres.

The seller? LV Angelo LLC, for which the Nevada Secretary of State lists Peter and Vicky Palivos as managers. Reid is their attorney in the transaction, which works out to $5 million an acre.

"We had been negotiating for approximately two years in regards to this situation, and Rossi (Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the travel authority,) beat them down," LVCVA General Counsel Luke Puschnig joked about the purchase price.

"This will give us a very competitive advantage," Ralenkotter commented.

The properties would provide the LVCVA access from Sierra Vista Drive and Swenson Road, adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center's purple parking lot, which now totals 8.4 acres. An additional $30,000 was included in the approved funding to pay for escrow and miscellaneous expenses.

The property will become a 120-space paid parking lot and will be used for trade show storage and staging.

Although the purchase was approved by the board, it was dependent on passage of a Resolution of Intent to issue $25 million in bonds to fund the land deals. Luckily for Reid, that too was passed unanimously.

He left happy, briefcase in hand.

Rana Lacer, the authority's vice president of finance, also presented the LVCVA's fiscal year 2013 budget, which will be filed Friday with the Nevada Department of Taxation.

Among the highlights of the budget was a 5 percent increase in room tax revenue, to $210 million. Lacer also noted a 2 percent increase in expenditures and an opening FY 2013 balance of almost $20 million.

No additional personnel positions will be created in FY 2013, but openings can be filled as needed.

In other business, the travel authority board approved an expense of $256,295 to pay for removal and repair of airwell covers, as well as $1.3 million to install the center's new carpet, which is set to arrive in late summer. Working around show days, the installation is expected to take a year.

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.