UNLV officials “have known from the start” that the height of the university’s now-nixed proposed stadium “violated Federal Aviation Administration standards” due to its proximity to nearby McCarran Int'l Airport, according to Alan Snel of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. UNLV Regent and stadium board member Michael Wixom said that the stadium location “concerned him because a sports and entertainment venue on a landlocked campus would restrict future growth." He also expressed that the "costs of building a stadium lower into the ground to limit the height impact on airport flights would grow exponentially the deeper the stadium was built below the ground level.” UNLV Senior VP/Finance & Business Gerry Bomatti said that building at the proposed site would have meant baseball, softball, soccer and tennis facilities “would have to be re-located and re-built at another campus location.” Snel noted an alternate on-campus site for the stadium “would mean Swenson Street would have to be re-aligned, adding more costs to the stadium project.” However, an off-campus option on Tropicana Ave. could “potentially drop the infrastructure costs, but the land would have to be acquired.” The stadium board is “required under law to present a stadium report to the state Legislature by Oct. 1” (LVRJ.com, 6/12).
