{"id":18490,"date":"2016-07-08T09:14:38","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T17:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=18490"},"modified":"2016-07-08T09:14:38","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T17:14:38","slug":"station-trumps-stadium-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/station-trumps-stadium-selection\/","title":{"rendered":"Station trumps stadium selection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Station Casinos<\/strong> has vaulted to the forefront<\/a> of the parties vying to host an NFL<\/strong>-size stadium on their property. While Station’s vast real estate bank has long been viewed as \"www-pic\"the ace up its sleeve, the company has had difficulty cashing in on its value — until now. Forget Viva<\/strong>, forget the mixed-use development Station recently previewed for Wall Street<\/strong>. No, the Wild Wild West<\/strong> site, which comes with 100 acres of overdue-for-redevelopment real estate is suddenly a prime contender for a stadium — as is a parking lot northwest of the Thomas & Mack Center<\/strong> (which still might be too close to McCarran International Airport<\/strong> for the FAA<\/strong>‘s comfort). The presumptive favorite site, Trop 42<\/strong>, next door to McCarran, crashed and burned last week<\/a> when Southwest Airlines<\/strong> raised objections and threatened to reduce flights into Vegas. (And if you’re Las Vegas<\/strong>, you don’t want to get on the wrong side of Southwest Airlines.) Already, passenger loads into McCarran were likely to be reduced due to Trop 42’s proximity to the north-south runways.<\/p>\n

The Riviera<\/strong> site remains in contention, but seems to be fading<\/a> back into the pack. MGM Resorts International<\/strong>, meanwhile, is stepping up the pressure to choose its Rock In Rio<\/strong> festival grounds for a stadium instead. Unlike stadium proponent Las Vegas Sands<\/strong>, MGM wasn’t shy about commenting on this turn of events. President Bill Hornbuckle<\/strong> issued a statement saying the company was engaged in “productive discussions” and would accept equity in the stadium in lieu of a land sale.” It would be a considerable coup for MGM to own both a share of the stadium and half of T-Mobile Arena<\/strong>. But does Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> want a competing casino company to play in his sandbox?<\/p>\n