By james art Grand Sierra Resort, which is seeking $97 million in tax increment financing, released a statement Wednesday afternoon ahead of its meeting with the Redevelopment Agency Board during the Reno City Council meeting.
GSR is planning a $1 billion private investment in the resort, which will include the construction of a $400 million arena that will house the Nevada men’s basketball team and potentially an AHL team owned by Alex Meruelo, who also owns GSR.
Since the project was announced in September 2023, it was believed that no public funds would be requested for the revamped recreation area, with UNR President and former Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval saying at the press conference 13 months ago, “no public funds will be invested dollars in building this facility.” Meruelo’s remarks that day noted that the project will not cost the university a single dollar, with a GSR spokesperson telling our sister station, KRNV, on Tuesday that Sandoval was speaking on behalf of the university, and not on behalf of GSR.
GSR’s statement Wednesday said Reno is not being asked to issue bonds for the project, meaning the city will not be at financial risk if the project is not completed. The full statement is below.
Grand Sierra Resort (GSR) looks forward to working with the City of Reno as we continue our plans to make a historic investment in the region. Our development team has been working for over a year on a comprehensive master plan that will see GSR become an unparalleled entertainment destination over the next ten years. The cornerstone of the project is the construction of a new world-class arena that will host live events such as concerts and serve as the new home of the Nevada men’s basketball team. That project is being financed through a $1 billion investment from Grand Sierra resort owner Alex Meruelo, who has consistently argued that the University of Nevada will not have to contribute anything financially to the construction of the arena.
The City of Reno created the Reno Redevelopment Agency in 1983 as a tool to stimulate the development of projects that would not otherwise be built, which in turn provides tax relief to the City, improves the quality of life for our citizens and creates value. This is accomplished through a property tax increase that has been successfully used to support the construction of several developments in downtown Reno over the past several decades and is an important tool for generating new investment in our region.
Until recently, the City of Reno had no standardized process for evaluating development projects within the Reno Development Agency (RDA) to assess their benefits, the developer’s capacity to complete the project, and their overall impact on the city. On Aug. 14, the Reno City Council, acting as the Reno Redevelopment Agency Board, adopted a comprehensive new application process as part of the city’s efforts to improve due diligence for RDA projects. This marks an important step towards increasing transparency and ensuring that all applications are carefully reviewed before being considered by the board. In addition, the City Council reactivated the Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board (RAAB), bringing in Reno residents with technical expertise to further support the review process. Following the adoption of this new framework, the GSR submitted an application to initiate the formal review.
Several points should be made clear to the public when the review process begins:
GSR is not asking the City of Reno for any general fund revenue.
The city is not required to issue bonds for the project, so there is no financial risk to the city if the project is not completed as planned. The Meruelo Group remains fully committed to seeing construction completed as planned.
No other property owners are asked to contribute to the development of the GSR.
RDA funds are generated through newly generated property value, so if the GSR does not invest in any projects such as the arena, lake improvements, or workforce housing, then there is no corresponding increase in property value and therefore no new increase to reinvest in a project.
Although RDAs have existed in Reno for the past 41 years, the life expectancy of RDA 2 expires in 2035, so this is a limited incentive program.
As GSR is the first applicant under this new transparent RDA program and given the size of Mr. Meruelo’s planned investment, we understand that it will attract a lot of attention. It is important that the public has a clear understanding of how the process works, as RDA operations have undergone significant improvements recently.
The City of Reno has taken a thoughtful and measured approach to improving the RDA process, and its efforts to implement meaningful reforms are commendable.
The arena portion of the project is slated to begin in the spring of 2025 with an expected completion date for the entire $1 billion project in the fall of 2035, according to the presentation, which is expected to be reviewed by the City Council of Reno on Wednesday night.
Below is a video of the project released by GSR in July.