Last night, the Reno City Council voted to move forward with restructuring the existing financial agreements related to the Baseball Stadium Project. The vote was 4 to 3 with Council members Dortch, Sferrazza, and Zadra voting against it.Due to the economic downturn affecting the incentives for the Baseball Stadium Project (Redevelopment Property Tax Increments) that were designated for financing the construction and operation of the baseball stadium, the developer and operator of the stadium, Nevada Land, LLC and SK Baseball, asked the Reno City Council, the Redevelopment Agency Board, and the Washoe County Commissioners to restructure the agreements.
The restructured agreements would specify an annual appropriation by the City of Reno of $1 million a year for 30 years. Other parts of the agreement would also include waiving the $6 million Fire Station Relocation Loan; waiving $4 million in back payments owed by the Redevelopment Agency; activating a Stadium Authority by an Interlocal Agreement between the City of Reno, Washoe County, and SK Baseball / Nevada Land, LLC; and outlining the stadium and land are reverted to the Stadium Authority instead of the developer. With the agreements the City does not issue any financial bonds.
A final outline of the restructured agreements along with indentifying a funding source for the $1 million payment (which will begin next fiscal year) will be brought back at the November 7, 2012 meeting for potential approval.
The University of Nevada, Reno conducted an analysis which shows the total economic impact on the Washoe County economy from the Reno Aces’ operations is estimated to be $21.1 million annually. Additionally, the Reno Aces shows to employ 50 full-time front office staff, an average of 200 people in attendance for 73 home games, the concessionaire hiring more than 175 employees each season, the Freight house District hiring approximately 100 employees during the peak season, and a previously neglected part of the city rejuvenated.
At a future Washoe County meeting, SK Baseball and Nevada Land, LLC will be asking Washoe County Commissioners to support the Baseball Stadium Project by funding $500,000 per year for 30 years.
