As work on the Athletics Baseball Stadium continues, the Clark County Board of County Commissioners approved a reimbursement resolution to help fund the mega-project.
The roughly $2B stadium is designed by Bjarke Ingels Group, while HNTB is serving as the architect of record. A joint venture between Mortenson and McCarthy Building Companies is the general contractor.
Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing work is being handled by Henderson Engineers. Lochsa Engineering is the civil engineer, and Thornton Tomasetti is the structural engineer.
Editor’s Note: Click here to view all our previous coverage of the stadium development.
The reimbursement resolution authorizes the sale of up to $135M in bonds to help fund the stadium. Commissioners had approved it as part of the consent agenda, meaning they did not hold a public discussion during the Feb. 17 meeting.
This does not mean the County is actively preparing to sell the bonds, however. The resolution serves as a step that authorizes money spent on construction to be reimbursed via tax-exempt proceeds. Essentially, it allows the County to determine what the costs will be prior to the issuance of the bonds.
This comes after commissioners approved a tax district around the stadium to allow tax revenue to be used to pay the potential bonds the County sells. As it was created last year, the tax district has already been generating tax revenue.
More details of how much money the tax district has generated were discussed during the Las Vegas Stadium Authority meeting on Feb. 19, after the publication deadline.
In total, the baseball stadium is eligible to receive up to $380M in public funding. There is also a $300M construction loan in place. The remaining costs are to be handled by A’s owner John Fisher.
The baseball team must spend a minimum of $100M on the project prior to being able to access the public funds.
The team is exploring other routes to help fund construction, such as selling minority ownership stakes and creating a personal seat license program.
Trademark Denial
Earlier this year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office did not approve a request for trademarks for “Las Vegas Athletics” and “Vegas Athletics.” The term “Las Vegas A’s” was approved, however.
The request was made by Major League Baseball. The denial was not a final action; therefore, MLB is eligible to apply for an extension.
In its decision, the USPTO said the wording was too vague for a proper trademark. It also said that the team is not yet playing in Las Vegas.
