The Boys & Girls Club of Northeastern Nevada is proposing an Events Center in Elko County to serve youth and adult sports, entertainment, trade shows, programs, equestrian events and special occasions.
The Boys & Girls Club is the owner and developer of the proposed sports and events center. Myers Anderson Architects is the architect, and Michael Clay Construction is the general contractor.
Sanbell Engineering is the civil engineer, Southern Bleachers is slated to work on the seating, and Priefert will work on the arena and corrals.
The proposed location is made up of two separate lots. The first lot is 5.6 acres and has been donated by the City of Elko. The second lot spans 179 acres and is currently owned by the Bureau of Land Management.
The BLM has a lease agreement with the Elko County School District on the land. The District has agreed to release its rights on a portion of the land to accommodate the proposed Events Center.
While design work is still underway, the Events Center is expected to be 45KSF-60KSF. Capacity for bleacher events is slated to be between 4,000-6,300 seats. This includes more than 100 box seats. Concerts will be able to hold roughly 10,000 participants.
Amenities planned in the Events Center include four-to-five basketball/volleyball courts, an indoor walking track, a portable rodeo arena with corrals, administrative space, a lobby, concessions/kitchen area, artist space and merchandise space. There will also be two locker room areas that hold showers for sporting events, contestants and artists.
Additional features include camping spots, an outdoor events area, an outdoor storage area and a parking lot large enough for more than 4,000 people. As the arena is both a multi-purpose event venue and sports venue, it will feature a hard floor, as opposed to a dirt floor. However, dirt will be installed for equestrian-centered events.
Due to the nature of Elko County, the Events Center targets a cowboy culture. The facility will hold rodeos, cutting horse events, roping and equestrian events.
Costs, Funding and Economic Impact
While an official cost estimate has yet to be announced, Myers Anderson Architects submitted a letter that estimates construction at around $23.6M.
Elko County has committed $15M to the development of the Events Center. Additionally, investments are covering another $3M, and community donations have totaled $580K.
Developers said the Events Center will give Elko Countythe opportunity to attract national, regional and statewide events that will positively impact businesses, citizens and taxes.
Projections indicate the Events Center will bring in roughly 3,000 individuals per event. Of those individuals, 50% will participate from areas outside of Elko.
The estimated economic impact is roughly $750 per non-resident every event and $200 per resident every event. In total, the estimated annual economic impact is $38.8M.
Next Steps and Timeline
The Boys & Girls Club will conduct necessary studies, such as parking, traffic and site evaluations. The tentative timeline prepared by the Boys & Girls Club pegs the project in the “Secure Site” phase of development, which is expected to end next month.
The design phase began in February of this year and will continue until December 2027. Groundbreaking is anticipated for May 2028, with an expected completion in October 2029.
