Council takes first step toward tax district for soccer stadium

By Joe Schoenmann

Wednesday, June 4, 2014 | 12:39 p.m.

The Las Vegas City Council has passed the first of several steps to create a tax district that could help finance a downtown soccer stadium.

By a unanimous vote, the council today gave staff approval to find a consultant to create a report on the fiscal impact of a Tourism Improvement District in Symphony Park.

Several more steps would be required for final approval, which wouldn’t be until at least April, said Billl Arent, the city’s director of Economic and Urban Development.

A key step would be approval by the Nevada Commission on Tourism at a meeting in January. The commission would have to agree that most of the revenue collected in the district would come from out-of-state tourists.

Developers could pledge 3.1 percent of sales taxes generated in the district to support the issuance of long-term bonds; the bonds could be used to help fund stadium construction.

Arent noted that a change in state law means no tax money redirected to a project could be taken from taxes targeted for education.

The council has set a Sept. 1 deadline to see a financing plan from Cordish Cos. and Findlay Sports and Entertainment, which want to build the stadium.