Here We Go Again: Clark County Will Tap Stadium Authority Reserves For $11.7 Million For Next Debt Payment June 1
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Clark County plans to tap a Stadium Authority reserve fund for $11.7 million in order to make a $16.1 million debt payment on the Raiders stadium because of a shortfall in hotel room tax revenues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The county filed noticed Tuesday that it would have to dip into the stadium authority’s reserve funds for the debt service payment on June 1.
This is the second time in a row Clark County had to draw money from the stadium authority reserves. In November, the county tapped the reserves for $11.5 million because of a big drop in hotel room tax money.
Hitting up the reserve fund comes as no surprise. With hotel room tax revenues way down, it was anticipated that Clark County would dip into the Stadium Authority’s reserve funds — again, like it did in November.
County spokesman Erik Pappa issued a statement that included this: “The total payment due is $16,057,500 of which $11,734,117 is expected to be needed from the Stadium Authority’s reserve fund. A total of $54,400,606 is estimated to remain in the reserve fund after this draw.
“This action does not constitute a default and was expected in light of the decline in tourism to Las Vegas. Fortunately, the financing for the Stadium Authority bonds included the funding of a debt service reserve fund to weather economic declines like the one Las Vegas is currently experiencing due to the pandemic.”
Southern Nevada contributed $750 million toward the construction of the $2 billion Raiders stadium project. The project budget included $1.4 billion to build the 65,000-seat, domed venue, while the other $600 million was spent on items such as land acquisitions, professional design costs and stadium equipment.
It’s the biggest public subsidy for an NFL stadium in history. The stadium was inaugurated by the Raiders without fans in 2020, but owner Mark Davis is counting on fans filling the venue for the upcoming 2021 season. The Raiders hope the Garth Brooks concert scheduled for July 10 will have 65,000 fans. The first fans to attend a football game in the stadium were UNLV fans who attended a UNLV-UNR game last Halloween.
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