Big Sports City, Small Town Politics: In Las Vegas, Overseeing and Promoting Explosive Sports Growth On Public Side Opens Doors To Conflict-of-Interest Discussions
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
Las Vegas’ sports development is exploding with new teams and venues and the man in the middle is Jeremy Aguero, a principal, or owner, of the Applied Analysis consulting company in Las Vegas.
Aguero and his company played twin roles as the administrative consultant to the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board at the time when he was also working as a consultant to the Athletics in June when arguing the team’s case before the Nevada Legislature to win a $380 million government subsidy to help build an A’s ballpark on the Strip.
The state bill authorizing the $380 million government assistance for the A’s $1.5 billion ballpark — money that Aguero helped obtain for the MLB team — specified that the public stadium authority would also oversee the Athletics ballpark construction, operations and revenues. The A’s said they have hired Mortenson/McCarthy as the construction manager for the ballpark at the Tropicana hotel site at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue. Mortenson/McCarthy also managed the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium project.
When the Athletics stadium SB 1 was passed in Carson City in June, Aguero’s Applied Analysis was still the consultant of record working for the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board. In fact, in 2022 Applied Analysis made $331,000 working as the stadium board’s consultant. The public stadium board oversees the Raiders stadium and public funding of $750 million under a 2016 state bill that Aguero also helped craft.
Aguero told LVSportsBiz.com Monday that Applied Analysis is no longer working for the Las Vegas Stadium Authority: “We are continuing to do work for the A’s as well as other sports-related clients. Respecting that the form and duration of these engagements is not clear at this time, there was a general consensus that it is in our collective best interest to avoid even the perception conflict as it relates to the Stadium Authority.”
Applied Analysis sent its 30-day notice of vacating the stadium authority consulting work at the end of July. Aguero acknowledged Applied Analysis was the stadium authority’s consultant when he was working for the Athletics in June during the state legislative process on A’s stadium funding.
Here’s Aguero’s explanation: “That said, we cleared any potential conflicts with all parties, including, without limitation, the Stadium Authority before undertaking the work that was done for the A’s. To be clear, our role with the A’s was in a technical capacity, providing the financial and economic analysis and work on the drafting of the legislation.”
A complicating wrinkle in the Athletics stadium case was that Steve Hill, the CEO of the publicly-funded LVCVA tourism agency, teamed with Aguero to represent the Athletics before the Nevada Legislature to win approval for the A’s stadium public funding. It’s typical that major league sports teams will hire a private consultant to argue their case for government money to help build a stadium.
But it was unusual to see the head of a major public agency, Hill, be part of the A’s stadium funding team before the state lawmakers. At an initial state legislative committee hearing, even Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine stepped up to the plate with Aguero and Hill to try and convince lawmakers to approve the A’s stadium funding legislation. Usually, it’s team consultants and management doing the talking before elected bodies for stadium construction money, not public officials.
Not only is Hill the top executive at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, he also is chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board.
Hill recently said at an LVCVA meeting that the LVCVA would provide administrative help to replace Applied Analysis’ role as a consultant to the stadium authority. The intent is for the LVCVA to be reimbursed for staff time for its work for the stadium authority.
Applied Analysis served as kind of a clerk to the board, providing administrative work to arrange board meetings and meeting agendas. The stadium board is public and is required to comply with public information laws.
Aguero and Hill know each other well. Not only was Aguero and Applied Analysis a common sight at stadium authority board meetings as a consultant, Aguero has also appeared before the LVCVA board, with the LVCVA having an $8,000 monthly retainer with Applied Analysis.
In explaining that Applied Analysis is vacating its role as stadium authority consultant, Aguero noted Monday the stadium authority’s job of overseeing the Raiders stadium construction was done.
“While the Authority’s work will never be ‘done,’ the closeout of Allegiant Stadium’s construction was completed earlier this year, all financial statements are in order and the Stadium Authority is operating well under budget, bond reserves are expected to be replenished by the end of this fiscal year, all requirements of Senate Bill 1 (2016) have been met and all required agreements are in place and current,” Aguero said.
The fact that both Aguero and Hill represented the Athletics before the state legislature in June while also serving roles with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board did not go over well with Nevada legislator Selena La Rue Hatch, who voted against SB 1 and supports a push by the state teachers association to try and legally overturn the stadium funding legislation.
La Rue Hatch told LVSportsBiz.com, “Both represent a concerning conflict of interest. One which has been troubling me more and more as I have taken the time to think it over months since session ended. We do have legal counsel within the Legislative Council Bureau, but I’m not sure the extent to which they were consulted on this issue. I certainly hope there is an investigation on this conflict of interest and I will certainly be reaching out our staff to ask about that.”
Alexander Marks, a spokesman for the Nevada State Education Association, and its PAC, Schools Over Stadiums, also argued that Aguero had a conflict of interest when representing both the A’s in Carson City and the stadium authority in Las Vegas in June.
“We believe it to be a conflict of interest. We’re unclear if Steve Hill was being paid by the A’s or just the LVCVA; however, we do know that at least Jeremy Aguero was being paid by the A’s. That could be why Mr. Aguero vacated his administrative role with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority a couple of weeks ago,” Marks said to LVSportsBiz.com.
“Our position is that they were unregistered lobbyists, as they failed to clearly identify the interest(s) for whom they were testifying. In the Regular and Special Sessions, there was nothing infrequent or irregular about their activities on behalf of either the A’s or Stadium Authority,” Marks told LVSB. “Even the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau (LCB), Brenda Erdoes, believes they lobbied.”
Marks said, “This conflict certainly harms the public good. To justify public funds for a stadium, both individuals made highly suspect economic projections contra to every economist on the subject. Nevada citizens deserve to know who someone is representing to avoid these types of conflicts (and even the appearance of one). When you’re using public money for a risky project such as this, the public deserves full transparency no matter what.”
Aguero is well-known for enthusiastically supporting Las Vegas’ evolution into a major sports town. If the A’s build their stadium in 2028, Las Vegas will be the smallest market in the U.S. to host three major league sports teams. Vegas is also hosting college basketball’s Final Four at Allegiant Stadium in 2028.
Aguero also had a tie to the Raiders when he worked for the NFL team in October 2021 as the NFL team’s chief operations and analytics officer.
He stepped away from Applied Analysis at the time and Applied Analysis continued to work as the stadium authority’s administrative consultant. Aguero rejoined Applied Analysis in July 2022 after leaving the Raiders in mid-2022.
Speaking of the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium, Aguero is also playing a role in Las Vegas hosting Super Bowl 58 at Allegiant Stadium Feb. 11, 2024.
He’s treasurer on the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee’s executive committee. The well-connected, friendly Aguero also has a direct line to Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo as a member of Lombardo’s transition committee after the former Clark County sheriff defeated incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak in November. Lombardo was a supporter of the A’s stadium funding bill.
At a 4 PM meeting Thursday, the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board is scheduled to discuss the LVCVA taking over the stadium authority’s duties from Applied Analysis. The meeting will be held at the LVCVA board room at the Las Vegas Convention Center at 3150 Paradise Rd.
Aguero said he has no problem with the LVCVA taking over the reins from his company in supplying the administrative support for the stadium authority. He said Hill serving as both LVCVA chief and stadium board chairman is not a conflict.
“I do not see that as a conflict of interest, and I know no one better than Steve Hill to ensure the necessary work is not only done but done correctly,” Aguero said.
