Tuesday, April 16, 2002 | 8:46 a.m.
Las Vegas City Council members see an academic medical center as the No. 1 priority for 61 acres of barren land west of downtown, but the potential developer remains convinced that baseball would be the best way to rejuvenate the area.
Michael Cramer, president of Southwest Sports Group -- which was selected by the council as the potential master developer -- said Monday that he understood the council's dreams of an academic medical center and performing arts center, but said it would not "activate" the property.
A minor-league stadium, Cramer said, would spur other uses, attract people downtown and generate more money for the city than an academic medical center or performing arts center.
"We believe a baseball stadium will create the extra amenities that people want in a downtown," Cramer said. "It will create a demand for housing downtown, it will create a demand for good restaurants and a demand for public spaces."
Cramer made his comments during a special council workshop Monday that was called after Southwest representatives said they were frustrated because city staff members were driving the process.
Craig Holt, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant, was paid $2,450 to help the council make specific decisions about the potential land use and possible city funding for the project, but the decisions were few.
The council members reiterated their hopes for the parcel -- a performing arts center, academic medical center and high-density residential. Well into the three-hour discussion, the council directed Southwest to continue exploring the possibility of three anchors -- a performing arts center, academic medical center and a minor-league baseball stadium.
Other uses, including residential, office and retail are seen as a given once development begins.
The council members declined to speculate how much of an incentive the city would be willing to give Southwest.
The city is nearing the end of negotiations with the Texas-based Southwest. Within 90 days, a final development agreement is expected to be presented to the council.
The 61-acre parcel, which the city acquired from Union Pacific Railroad in 2000, is seen as the future of downtown Las Vegas.
While the council has maintained its vision for the parcel, the workshop was the first time the potential developers publicly discussed their vision.
Cramer said his company is not "married to the idea" of a minor-league baseball stadium, but has been charged with bringing the best development to the 61 acres. Cramer said his company had no financial interest in the Las Vegas 51s -- the city's minor league team that plays at Cashman Field -- but Southwest specializes in building mixed-use developments with a minor-league stadium as the centerpiece. If a stadium were built it would house the 51s.
Cramer supports an academic medical center and performing arts center, but said a cost-benefit analysis would show that the uses would not generate an immediate return to the city.
"We personally would love to see all three of these uses incorporated, but what we're interested in is realistically what can be built here," he said.
"(An academic medical center), on its own is not what's going to revitalize your downtown," Cramer said. "It isn't going to work. If we ended up building a hospital alone -- and we would be in support of it -- that wouldn't solve your problem any more than building a Kmart. It doesn't energize your downtown."
Mayor Oscar Goodman is committed to the concept of a medical center, but he has reservations about a minor league stadium because the Las Vegas 51s have meager attendance rates at its current home.
"I'm scared to death that if there's a baseball stadium built down there, knowing what Las Vegas is all about ... I'm not sure that a brand, spanking new stadium will draw the fans," Goodman said.
Even a performing arts center is questionable, he said, because it would be competing with other entertainment venues.
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