Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said the agenda item for a meeting Thursday indicating Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority would pay up to $200,000 for the Space Whale was incorrect.
She said she requested the Space Whale purchase be included on the agenda in addition to an agenda item on what CARES Act tourism initiatives to bring forward to the board for future discussion.
“It was a miscommunication,” she said. “The staff report was pretty vague.”
RSCVA had included in its budget the $200,000 to purchase the Space Whale for the City of Reno’s use.
The board’s agenda read:
Staff is requesting the Board of Directors review and approve funding by the RSCVA in an amount not to exceed $200,000 to assist the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada in purchasing the Space Whale, a 50-foot sculpture in the Reno City Plaza. The Space Whale would become a permanent art display for use by the City of Reno.
“That item has been pulled, so we are not proposing spending resources on that,” RSCVA’s finance VP Robert Chisel said.
