The Meruelo Group is seeking $97M from the City of Reno for its $1B expansion of the Grand Sierra Resort.
Additions to the 140-acre property include: a more than 10,000-seat sporting arena, satellite ice rink, parking garage, fan area, 800-room hotel, golf facility and approximately 300 affordable housing units. The Meruelo Group and University of Nevada, Reno are partnering to give UNR’s basketball team a new home.
The Meruelo Group previously announced it is working with Gensler as the architect of the expansion project.
The developer stated the expansion effort will not place any financial burden on the university. The $97M requested from the City is through Tax Increment Financing. The TIF financing could cover slightly less than 10% of the overall cost.
TIFs generally freeze property taxes in an area and divert property tax revenue from the new project back to the developer for construction costs. Supporters believe it helps fund infrastructure and development in areas that would otherwise be left alone, while detractors think it keeps too much money away from local services.
While the State will not be providing funds for the project, lawmakers are looking at ways to aid the project. Legislation is being considered that would allow the extension of potential TIF funding. Other resort owners are opposed to the use of TIF funding for this project as it is mostly used for under-funded areas to spark economic development. Opponents also believe the resort has enough money to cover the expansion project without additional funding.
The developers stated the proposal puts all the risk upon Grand Sierra. Developers also cited other similar projects that benefitted from TIF funding, such as Greater Nevada Field and the National Bowling Stadium. Representatives of Grand Sierra said the site only has 2,000 hotel rooms to service the 10,000-seat entertainment venue. The representative believes the gap will spark an increase in guests staying at other local hotels. Developers also said the project is reliant on the financing, which would reduce property taxes by $89.7M.
A full presentation is planned before City Council on April 9. While general project details have been announced, nothing concrete has yet been established. Representatives of the resort stated substantial design progress had been made on the new stadium as of July 25, 2024. Reno is also $3.7M short of its $862M annual budget.
Meruelo previously tried to develop a hockey arena for the Arizona Coyotes in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Due to local pushback, the arena was never constructed and the team moved to Utah. Prior to the move, the team played in Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena. Meruelo is currently suing the Arizona Board of Regents to recover its $3.5M security deposit, as the team moved prior to the final year of the lease agreement.
Senate Bill 401
Sen. Edgar Flores is bringing Senate Bill 401 to the legislative floor on behalf of the developers. SB401 targets Reno’s development district, which includes the Grand Sierra Resort. The redevelopment district was originally established in 2005, with plans to end after 30 years. The proposed legislation would extend the district’s lifetime by an additional 20 years.
Flores said Grand Sierra was not the only entity that reached out to him to extend the district’s timeline. Developers in the area claimed projects became impossible to complete prior to the deadline due to the pandemic.
The Meruelo Group wants the legislation to be approved within the coming weeks to have the arena ready for the 2027 basketball season.