UNLV officials "plan to develop a 50,000-seat" on-campus football stadium instead of the 40,000-seat facility previously proposed, according to Richard Lake of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. UNLV President Neal Smatresk said that a "special taxing district, once seen as essential, might not be necessary" to finance the project. UNLV's Board of Regents "agreed Thursday to extend for another 180 days an exclusive negotiating agreement between UNLV and Majestic Realty to develop the project." A consultant said that the larger stadium "gives more flexibility and doesn't limit the types of events that could be attracted to Las Vegas." Eventually, plans are to "include the stadium, shopping, student housing and parking on the site, now the parking lot for the Thomas & Mack Center." UNLV Senior VP/Finance & Business Gerry Bomotti said that "no public money has been spent on the project," and added that "none would be spent." Backers and university officials originally "announced the project in February." They had planned "on getting legislative approval to create a special tax district wherein taxes collected on the site would help fund the project." But the Legislature "failed to pass such a measure." Smatresk said that "another financing option might be naming right, but that was only a possibility" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 12/2).
