Tax bumps were presented yesterday "as the most logical revenue source to fund" UNLV's proposed multimillion-dollar on-campus stadium, according to Brian Nordli of the LAS VEGAS SUN. UNLV Regent and Stadium BOD member James Dean Leavitt yesterday in an e-mail to UNLV Chair & acting President Don Snyder "supported a slight increase in the Clark County sales tax and room tax on the Strip." Leavitt said that the tax "should be spread between both areas because they are 'the primary beneficiaries of this project.'" Snyder suggested that a "countywide sales tax would be preferable because it would spread the cost, minimizing the impact on residents." UNLV is "considering three on-campus stadium models." The costs to build them range from $523M for the smallest to $833M for the domed stadium. The proposed sales tax "would increase the current tax" from 8.1% to up to 8.37% "depending on the type of bond UNLV would receive and the size of the stadium." The increase would provide $83M in "potential revenue to pay for the building." A proposed sales tax on the Vegas Strip only "was also considered, which would bring in about" $79M in potential revenue (LAS VEGAS SUN, 7/24). Leavitt said that UNLV students "should also pay a suggested $100 toward a 'perpetual fund' for major universities projects such as a stadium or medical school." Stadium board member Chris Giunchigliani said that any room tax increase "should first help pay for the proposed expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center." Fellow board member Rick Arpin of MGM Resorts Int'l "cautioned that a covered stadium could 'cannibalize existing events' at private venues and wanted a pros and cons report on the idea of covering a stadium" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/24).
