I had to delete the previous thread because gave us problems, sorry about that.
Three-facility downtown stadium proposal would compete with UNLV dome
Special To The Las Vegas Review-Journal
Mark Anderson
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: Feb. 8, 2011 | 5:29 p.m.
The dazzling Feb. 1 presentation by a development group promising to not only build a 40,000-seat domed stadium at UNLV but remake its campus appears to have hit its first significant hurdle.
A separate group, International Development Management LLC, that hopes to construct a three-venue sports complex downtown is lobbying the Board of Regents to vote against approving an exclusivity negotiating agreement for the UNLV venture.
The regents have called a special meeting for Friday to discuss whether to enter into such an agreement with a group led by Southern California billionaire builder Ed Roski and Silverton Casino president Craig Cavileer.
On the face, it appears the two projects have little in common, but the first to build a stadium in the valley probably ends the chances of a second being constructed in the near future.
IDM also hopes to attract UNLV's basketball, football, baseball and soccer teams as tenants for $1 per year plus event expenses. The group plans to construct a 50,000-seat stadium, a 17,500-seat arena and a 9,000-seat ballpark that also could house the Triple-A 51s.
51s executive director Don Logan said previous stadium proposals that fizzled have taught him to temper his enthusiasm before true progress is made.
"You just want to get to the whole root of it," Logan said. "I think everybody (with the 51s) is aware of the talk, but at this point, it's just talk."
IDM says its $1.58 billion project could be ready to begin construction by October and open two years later. Spokeswoman Lee Haney said this project has been in the works for two years and has quietly lined up financing. An IDM document states no tax money is needed.
"We need the regents to be aware we're moving forward and our project is viable," Haney said. "We don't want them to tie their hands and have a situation where they couldn't work with us."
The project, called the Las Vegas National Sports Center, would be on a 70-acre parcel in Symphony Park. City of Las Vegas spokesman Jace Radke noted the city can only discuss an arena project in that location with the Cordish Cos., a Baltimore-based developer that the city has been negotiating with for years.
Radke said the city has not been in talks with IDM CEO Chris Milam "because we have an (exclusive negotiating agreement) with Cordish. We're bound from talking to anybody else."
Haney said IDM is "working in conjunction with Cordish" because they have similar interests. She said IDM is interested in the sports complex and Cordish in the retail side.
"They are having discussions with Cordish," Radke said. "That's our understanding."
IDM clearly is a competitor of the UNLV Now project presented by Roski and Cavileer that not only would build a stadium on campus but create student housing, hotels and parking garages that would almost completely change the face of the university.
Haney pointed out that by the competing group's own admission, it was light on specifics and not far along.
The IDM document also is critical of placing a stadium so close to the airport and of the disruption that would be caused by changes to Swenson Street. IDM also stated Roski and Cavileer's group seeks $100 million from UNLV alumni to get started.
Attempts to reach Cavileer for comment were unsuccessful.
Regent Mark Alden said "unless something changes," he won't vote to give UNLV Now exclusive negotiating rights.
"Anybody who reads the material and does a full analysis would vote no," Alden said. "If they wouldn't, they're not very bright."
Regents chairman James Dean Leavitt said he planned to enter the meeting with an open mind.
"Absolutely, and I always encourage other members to do the same," Leavitt said.
UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood said he was aware of the downtown proposal, but didn't have enough information to comment on it. University president Neal Smatresk did not respond to a text message for comment.
There probably would be concern on the part of UNLV officials about moving four of its sports downtown, but Haney said playing in what would be professional facilities would help recruiting.
She said IDM has talked to different pro leagues about bringing a team to one of the potential new venues. Haney said, however, no agreement is in place and that, contrary to reports, there never was one with an NBA team.
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Read More: http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/mar/25/desertxpress-high-speed-rail-project-rolls-forward/Las Vegas Sun said:DesertXpress high-speed rail project rolls forward
Officials say report is a step forward in Obama’s transportation plans
By Richard N. Velotta (contact)
Las Vegas Sun
Friday, March 25, 2011 | 4:22 p.m.
DesertXpress, a proposed $6 billion high-speed rail line that would link Las Vegas with Victorville, Calif., cleared another major hurdle Friday with the Federal Railroad Administration’s release of its final environmental report on the route.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the completion of the environmental impact statement, a document that was reviewed by five federal agencies, during a press conference at UNLV’s Science and Engineering Building.
The announcement also included presentations by Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada Department of Transportation Director Susan Martinovich and UNLV President Neal Smatresk.
DesertXpress officials had expected the environmental report to be completed by the end of 2010 so the fact that was completed was no big surprise. But transportation experts say the announcement is significant because it is one of the first reports involving high-speed rail transportation, an important piece of President Obama’s transportation initiative.
An environmental report was completed for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando, but that project is in jeopardy because Florida Gov. Rick Scott in February rejected federal money for the line.
Reid, LaHood and Martinovich didn’t answer specific questions about the report because they hadn’t seen the document, which was posted by the FRA earlier today.
One of the key aspects of the report is the location of the Las Vegas train station. Experts familiar with the project say the preferred site for the station is at Russell Road and Interstate 15.
The draft environmental report also considered two sites at Flamingo Road and I-15 and one in downtown Las Vegas, but the Russell Road site is preferred because of the additional cost of continuing the line farther north.
Additional right-of-way would have to be acquired to run the track to Flamingo Road or downtown and tracks would have to be elevated.
The rest of the report outlines preferred routes of the dual tracks that would run 185 miles, primarily along the I-15 corridor between Las Vegas and Victorville. The report analyzed several alternative corridors on portions of the route with the objective of avoiding desert tortoise habitats and other environmentally sensitive areas.
While DesertXpress officials attended the event, they didn’t participate in the conference with LaHood, Reid, Martinovich and Smatresk.
After the conference, Andrew Mack, chief operating officer of DesertXpress Enterprises, explained how important completion of the report is.
“It’s really significant for DesertXpress because it means that the six years of hard work by the federal and state agencies has reached a conclusion and it sets the path forward for final permitting so we can start the project,” Mack said.
Mack said he’s still uncertain when the company will be able to break ground for the project, but Reid said during the press conference that he was hopeful that it would occur before the end of the year.
DesertXpress has applied for a $4.9 billion loan through the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing program, which provides direct federal loans and loan guarantees to finance development of railroad infrastructure.
Under terms of the program, funding may be used to develop or establish new intermodal or railroad facilities and direct loans can fund up to 100 percent of a railroad project with repayment periods of up to 35 years and interest rates equal to the cost of borrowing to the government.
If approved, the loan would be more than four times the amount the program has loaned to 28 railroad projects that have received loans through RRIF program since 2002.
Since 2002, the program has lent $1.02 billion with the largest loan, $233 million, going to the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad in 2003.
The FRA has hired an independent analyst to determine if ridership estimates, $50 one-way fares and other ancillary revenue will be enough to pay back the loan and prevent taxpayers from footing the bill.
The DesertXpress high-speed rail project would travel 185 miles through federal lands, a national preserve and two states.
LaHood and Reid had no update on the status of the loan request.
Mack said his company may not borrow the total amount in the request and has been awaiting the final environmental report to determine which route alternatives would be approved to determine a final cost of the project.
Transportation consultant Tom Skancke, who advises local government officials and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority about transportation matters, said today’s announcement “is a big victory in the transportation world.”
“It’s a big victory for the Obama administration’s vision of high-speed rail in the United States and a big victory for Sen. Reid in helping Nevada get the nation’s first high-speed rail transportation system,” Skancke said.
“This is also a great model as a classic public-private partnership,” he said. “Public-private partnerships often are criticized because companies seek up-front money for their projects. In this case, DesertXpress has invested a lot of their own money to get the environmental reports completed and are now going to the government with this loan request to build the project.”
Reid also said the project is important because of the jobs it would provide. He said DesertXpress would bring 35,000 jobs to Clark County alone with construction, operation as well as suppliers and vendors for the project. Several thousand more jobs are expected to be created in Southern California once the project begins.