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By Alan Snel/LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
Talk about a wild pitch.
When making his case for a proposed $380 million in public funding for an Athletics stadium in Las Vegas, LVCVA tourism chief Steve Hill claimed at a state legislative hearing Monday tourism drops in the summer months in Las Vegas when the Major League Baseball season is being played.
Hill said during a joint committee hearing on the A’s stadium funding bill that a subsidized ballpark on the Strip at the Tropicana hotel-casino site would benefit tourism in the summer months because he claimed visitor numbers dropped in the summer here.
Only one problem.
LVSportsBiz.com looked at the LVCVA’s own visitors data for the pre-COVID year of 2019 and the most recent year of 2022. Conclusion: the average monthly number of Las Vegas visitors for the four-month period of June, July, August and September in both 2019 and 2022 was actually slightly higher than the average monthly number for the entire year.
Let’s break it down.
In 2019, the last year before COVID, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) reported 42,523,700 visitors in Las Vegas — or an average of 3.54 million visitors per month.
In the summer months of June, July, August and September of 2019, there were a total of 14,348,200 visitors — or 3.59 million visitors per month.
So, the four-month summer period in 2019 had a higher average number of monthly visitors than the average monthly number for the entire year.
Let’s look at 2022’s LVCVA numbers.
In 2022, the LVCVA reported 38,829,300 visitors to Las Vegas — or a monthly average of 3.24 million visitors per month.
In the months of June, July, August and September of 2022, there were a total of 13,362,200 visitors — or 3.34 million visitors per month.
Again in 2022, the four-month summer period in Las Vegas had a higher average number of monthly visitors than the entire year.
LVSportsBiz.com shared these numbers with Hill via an email Wednesday afternoon.
We heard back from the LVCVA’s PR head Thursday. Lori Nelson-Kraft told LVSportsBiz.com that “Steve inadvertently confused the RevPAR statistic with occupancy. RevPAR was down 3 to 7.5% in those months.” RevPAR is revenue per available room.
It should be noted that Hill also serves as chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority board, which oversees the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium. It was mentioned in S.B. 509 the stadium authority would also oversee the A’s ballpark.
Even though Las Vegas’ searing heat in the summer months makes it uncomfortable to do outdoor activities during the day, the Athletics have pitched a climate-controlled venue with a retractable roof. The team also reportedly discussed 4 PM starts to allow visitors to attend games in Las Vegas before they go to entertainment acts in the evening at hotel venues.
Hill appeared before the Nevada Senate finance committee and the Assembly ways and means committee at a bill hearing that was scheduled to start at 4 PM Monday in Carson City. It began 4:20 PM on Memorial Day and lasted until 10:30 PM.
Joining Hill in presenting the case to subsidize the $1.5 billion A’s ballpark with $380 million in government assistance were Athletics consultant Jeremy Aguero, a Las Vegas-based consultant who works for the LVCVA and talks frequently about the Las Vegas sports industry’s growth, and state Treasurer Zach Conine, who was so effusive for his support of the stadium bill during Monday’s hearing that it was unclear whether he worked for the people of Nevada or the Athletics ballclub.
Conspicuous in their absences at the hearing were Athletics owner John Fisher and team president Dave Kaval. A state lawmaker at the hearing said it would have been nice if the A’s owner and president attended to answer questions. Other people thought likewise.
The big piece of news that came out of the hearing was that the Athletics said the ballpark (if the bill is approved) would open in 2028 — not 2027 as originally stated by Kaval. That means the A’s would likely play at their Triple-A Aviators ballpark in Summerlin for 2025, 2026 and 2027 because the team’s lease at the Coliseum in Oakland expires after the 2024 season.
The fact the stadium bill’s only hearing was held on Memorial Day, a national holiday when many people are traveling or with friends and family, also drew criticism.
Opponents said Nevada and Clark County have more pressing issues like schools and health care that need public resources, while unions and business group leaders supported the stadium bill.
As of Wednesday at 3:50PM, the Nevada Legislature’s “opinions submitted on SB 509” showed 79 percent against and 21 percent for the bill.
Many people are in favor of Major League Baseball in Las Vegas, but many people also do not public money to be used to help build the 30,000-seat venue for the Athletics. The A’s want to build the ballpark on nine acres of the 35-acre Tropicana hotel-casino site at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue on the Strip.
The Athletics say the annual MLB attendance would be 2.5 million at the 30,000-seat stadium. Only problem with that number is that if you multiply 81 home games times 30,000 fans a game, you come up with 2.43 million fans a game. And that’s based on the A’s selling out every single game.
The Nevada Legislature adjourns June 5. But if the state lawmakers do not vote on the bill, Gov. Joe Lombardo can call a special session.
The Athletics have a record of 12 wins and 46 losses this season with the lowest player payroll in the majors out of 30 teams.