Alex Meruelo wants public funding for the Reno project.
The last time we saw Alex Meruelo, he was waving Phoenix goodbye with a billion dollar check in his pocket after failing to get an arena in the Phoenix metropolitan area for his National Hockey League franchise built. NHL owners basically took his business away and sold the franchise to Ryan Smith who took the business to Salt Lake City. Meruelo was given the opportunity to get a replacement franchise by 2029 if he could get a venue built. Meruelo failed but that was not his only attempt to get an arena built.
In September 2023, Meruelo announced his intention to invest $1 billion into building an arena-village in Reno, Nevada within his Grand Sierra Resort property. The arena would seat more than 10,000 people and its main tenant could be the University of Nevada Reno’s men’s college basketball team. Meruelo initially said that he would not seek public funding for his plan. That has changed. Meruello wants $97 million in public money from the City of Reno through tax increment financing. Tax increment financing allows the developer of a project to keep all tax money generated by businesses inside the property to pay off the project’s debt. Meruelo said his company has “put forward a proposal that places all of the risk on the [Grand Sierra], which is why it’s surprising the other local gaming operators are opposing this transformational development.” Meruelo added that downtown Reno “has enjoyed the benefits of TIF funded projects for the past 30 years.” The projects include the 9,100-seat baseball stadium, the home venue of Minor League Baseball’s Triple-A Reno Aces franchise, and the National Bowling Stadium. Reno elected officials want more information before making a decision on whether to help out. Meanwhile in Phoenix, the NHL has abandoned the market because Meruelo could not deliver an arena.
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Proposed Reno arena.
