The Reno City Council approved 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. At their November 6, 2012 meeting, the Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board voted 5 to 2 recommending the approval of the restructuring with the caveat that the City could find funding within the budget.The restructured agreements include an annual appropriation by the City of Reno which is equivalent to $1 million a year for 30 years. Additional components of the agreements include waiving the outstanding principal of the $6 million Fire Station Relocation Loan; the right to use the stadium for 12 special events per year for civic, non-profit events; waiving approximately $3.7 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.
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. 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.
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. The Reno Aces advise they employ 50 full-time front office staff, have an average of 200 people in attendance for 73 home games, the concessionaire hires more than 175 employees each season, and the Freight house District hires approximately 100 employees during the peak season.
The baseball club owners will return to the November 14, 2012 meeting to present a personal guarantee for repayment and a 30 year commitment to stay in Reno.
