Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

City quietly ends arena talks with REI Neon

City now free to pursue other potential arena options

The Las Vegas City Council today officially terminated the Las Vegas Events Center Request for Proposal process.

This brings to an end the 14-month negotiation between the council and REI Neon, the group that was chosen as the preferred arena developer.

REI Neon had announced plans to build the arena as part of a $10.5 billion mixed-use development on Main Street and Charleston Boulevard downtown.

In the agenda summary page, city officials cited the softening economy and difficulty in securing equity for the project as reasons why REI Neon could not deliver on its proposal.

By terminating the request for proposal, the city has no further liability to the agreement or any of its components.

This frees the city up to pursue other potential arena options and to negotiate with other developers on the current City Hall site and an adjacent 12-acre parcel, which are owned by the city and were included in the memorandum of understanding with REI Neon.

Unlike the approval of the arena proposal, which was done with much fanfare, the termination vote was placed on the consent agenda and was voted on with no discussion, along with several other procedural items.

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