The owner of Reno’s Grand Sierra Resort is seeking financial assistance from the city to build a sports arena.
During the city’s Redevelopment Agency Board and City Council meetings last week, representatives from the Meruelo Group, the parent company of the Grand Sierra located southeast of downtown Reno, presented their funding request for the construction of a 10,500-seat arena.
The Meruelo Group, owned by Cuban-American billionaire Alex Meruelo, whose real estate empire includes the Sahara on the Las Vegas Strip, is seeking $97 million in city allocations through a tax increment financing (TIF) plan.
Andrew Diss, Meruelo’s chief strategy officer, told the redevelopment committee that an arena at the casino resort would benefit Reno, making the $97 million tax allocation a smart bet for the city’s economic future. The company forecasts that construction of the $400 million arena would create 5,300 construction jobs and 65 permanent full-time hires.
$1B Development
The Grand Sierra Resort’s proposed arena would likely become the home of the University of Nevada’s men’s basketball team, and possibly, a minor league hockey team (Meruelo owns the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes).
Meruelo is committed to opening a new stadium for the Wolf Pack men’s basketball program and insists the school won’t pay a dollar for the new digs. Nevada’s women’s hoops team would remain at the Lawlor Events Center.
The $400 million arena is only part of the Meruelo Group’s $1 billion expansion plan. Along with the indoor sports complex, the initiative includes a new hotel tower with 865 rooms, 300 affordable housing units, an ice rink, and a 2,400-space parking garage.
Bryan McArdle, the city’s revitalization manager, relayed to the City Council that staff at the Redevelopment Agency determined that the TIF application from Meruelo met the necessary criteria to proceed toward a “review and negotiation of a participation agreement.”
The project is anticipated to serve as a significant economic driver for the city, promoting tourism, enhancing the local entertainment scene, and acting as a centerpiece for redevelopment while adding workforce housing,” McArdle wrote in conclusion.
The Reno City Council voted in favor of hiring a third party to conduct a thorough review of the project’s scope. The contracted consultant will be tasked with completing an independent analysis of the project’s feasibility and financial projections, economic and regional impacts, and propose terms to the public-private partnership and participation agreement.
If allocated the $97 million, the Meruelo Group plans to break ground on the arena in the spring and open the facility before the Nevada men’s basketball team tips off their 2027 regular season. The project’s other components are slated for completion by 2035.
4-1-1 on TIFs
According to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit think tank that strives to “improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land,” tax increment financing allows local governments to promote economic development by earmarking property tax revenue from forecasted increases in assessed values.
TIFs tend to work best in blighted areas, as property values tend to increase when investments are made. That’s why Reno Councilor Jenny Brekhus (Ward 1) voted against the Grand Sierra arena application because the resort isn’t in a blighted neighborhood.
Diss said the casino resort’s proposed expansion would benefit all parts of the city.
“Over the course of the next 10 years, [Meruelo] intends to invest approximately $1 billion into a multiphased development encompassing sports and entertainment, retail, food and beverage, workforce housing, and most importantly — jobs. This will be the largest redevelopment project in the history of Reno,” Diss said.
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