Redevelopment Talks, Stadium Plan, Team Purchase Behind The Scenes Of Lights Season
By Alan Snel
LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
They celebrated the Fourth of July at the Las Vegas Lights FC soccer game Thursday night, as the players donned special blue jerseys and watched post-game fireworks before a crowd of more than 8,000 at Cashman Field in downtown Las Vegas.
The Lights tied the LA Galaxy II at two when Irvin Parra scored near the end of the game, giving the independent Las Vegas club a record of six wins, seven losses and five ties — good for tenth place out of 18 Western Conference teams in the United Soccer League.
The Lights are known for their off-beat promotions — the popular halftime helicopter cash drop is set again for later this year.
But while the Lights continue their march to another middle-of-the-road season on the Cashman pitch, there’s a behind-the-scenes process working silently behind the games and promotions that will determine the fate of the second-year soccer club.
An investor is interested in buying the Lights and redeveloping a downtown Las Vegas corridor that would include to a new soccer stadium in hopes that the prospective Lights buyer would move the second-tier soccer club to Major League Soccer.
The Renaissance Companies, a construction management firm, is one month into a 180-day “exclusive negotiation agreement” (ENA) with the city of Las Vegas to create a public-private partnership to redevelop a mile-long stretch along Las Vegas Boulevard, including a new soccer stadium. Renaissance hired the Populous sports stadium design firm to design a covered soccer stadium with a translucent fabric roof that creates an outdoor feel to the facility while giving fans a climate-controlled indoor venue. It also has a retractable field enabling the stadium to be used for other sports and entertainment events.
Money management company Baupost Group would buy the Lights if the city of Las Vegas and Renaissance can reach an agreement after the six-month negotiating period ends in the autumn. The Baupost Group is headed by hedge fund manager billionaire Seth Klarman.
Lights owner Brett Lashbrook discussed redevelopment/stadium concept during an LVSportsBiz.com podcast a month ago.
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