You should excuse Richie Clyne for feeling a little envious these days.
He’s watched the political blitz to approve a proposed $1.9 billion NFL stadium plan using $750 million in public financing from afar, and he admits it’s been an impressive display of strength. On Friday morning, the family of multibillionaire Las Vegas Sands Chairman Sheldon Adelson, with a large supporting team of lobbyists, fellow casino titans, and labor union executives, reached the end zone by winning approval from the Assembly in a special session of the Legislature. To follow the football analogy, all that remained, after final Senate approval of some minor changes, was for Gov. Brian Sandoval, an enthusiastic supporter of the plan, to kick the extra point by signing Senate Bill 1 into law.
Clyne has his own experience with sports development. Clyne plus former casino men Ralph Engelstad and William Bennett were the driving forces behind the creation of the enormously successful Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Sold in 1998 to Speedway Motorsports, Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., the racing complex northeast of the Strip spreads over 1,200 acres and plays host to the NASCAR Sprint Cup and many other major events. Seating capacity is 116,000.
And one other thing. The speedway was built with private money, about $200 million worth by Clyne’s recollection. “Yes it was,” Clyne says, “100 percent.”
The stadium plan has many critics in government and the public, but during the special session of the Legislature the negative voices were easily drowned out by the cheerleading of the project’s proponents. Forget that Nevada’s public school funding is among the lowest in the nation and that the state has numerous social ills being largely unaddressed. The deal is done, and if the Oakland Raiders win approval from a super-majority of NFL bosses, team owner Mark Davis has promised to make Las Vegas the new home of the silver and black.
Not that you can count Clyne among the NFL stadium proposal’s critics. Far from it. He says he appreciates the ability of the developers and the casino bosses to get together on the issue. And the use of $750 million in room tax revenues doesn’t bother him a bit.
A big Las Vegas stadium, if it’s marketed right, holds the promise of big crowds and the dollars they bring. He’s clearly energized by that prospect.
Although Clyne reiterated he didn’t know the details of the deal, and the interview was conducted prior to the legislative votes and the news that the project would necessitate fast-tracking $899 million in highway improvements to accommodate the anticipated traffic, he remained impressed.
But, well, that kind of first-class service from government was out of the question in the 1990s when the speedway project came together. Back then, developers had to assemble the real estate one parcel at a time. Approximately 30 parcels were secured. Engelstad had an advantage because he’d owned some of the fallow land for many years.
Then there was the infrastructure costs. Water, power, sewer, roads, drainage, and improvements to I-15 — it was all paid for by the developers. (Think about that the next time you hear the stadium’s developers whine about infrastructure costs.)
Not that the speedway gang didn’t seek assistance from the county and anyone else who might be willing to lend a sympathetic ear. Although Clyne recalls the speedway eventually receiving some help with event marketing, brick, mortar, and asphalt were out of the question.
Engelstad, Clyne, and Bennett found allies in their vision in casino man Michael Gaughan and longtime gaming executive Mel Larson. It was Larson who escorted Clyne throughout the country to meet and pick the brains of racing executives. He was able to interview experts and examine architecture studies.
“We were proud of doing it ourselves, but we would have appreciated a little help from government — but it just wasn’t available to us,” Clyne recalled. “Could it be done that way today? I don’t think so.”
No one has asked him, but Clyne believes the stadium could become a favored site for major-college bowl games and alumni games as well. “Personally, I think a football stadium would be so positive for the town,” Clyne says.
Envious? Yes, he says. Just a little. “I would have liked to have a taxpayer deal like this to step up and help us out, but it wasn’t available.”
Obviously, times have changed.
John L. Smith is a longtime Las Vegas journalist and author. Reach him at jlnevadasmith@gmail.com, or on Twitter @jlnevadasmith.
