Officials fear that if they don’t build a cutting-edge facility, Las Vegas could lose prestigious shows and events to other cities with more modern venues, costing the local economy many millions of dollars.

"The Thomas & Mack Center has served this community well for 23 years," said Reid, who made the announcement with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman and Bret Whipple, chairman of the Board of Regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education. "But we have to face up to the fact that, by industry standards, it is considered old and no longer state of the art. That puts Las Vegas at a competitive disadvantage. The task force will seek realistic solutions through a very public process, one that involves the entire community."

The task force will be comprised of one representative each from Clark County, the city of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitor’s Authority, Las Vegas Events, the Higher Education System of Nevada, a Las Vegas Strip gaming company and a downtown Las Vegas gaming company.

A new arena would host at least 12 or more prestigious special events, some of which Las Vegas has never hosted and some of which Las Vegas would likely lose if a new events center were not built. They could include National Finals Rodeo, motor sports, exhibition games for the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, Ultimate Fighting Championship, future NBA All-Star games and perhaps even the games of a NBA or NHL sports franchise or a national political party’ s convention.

The committee, which would meet for about 90 days beginning next month, needs to analyze the benefits and obstacles to a new arena.

It will conduct an economic impact study that considers the value of a new arena for tourism, the economy, on locals, and the effect of construction and the impact on the area where it would be built and operated. The feasibility of the immediate and long-term use of the T&M also would be evaluated.

One important question is cost. Officials will hire a consultant to help evaluate potential revenues and expenses and possible financing options with the goal of no public financing.

The T&M was built 23 years ago at a cost of $30 million, largely with slot machine tax proceeds. Officials noted that the Las Vegas market is unlike any other in the country and they think they can tap the private sector for some of the costs this time. There are more special events than in any other city and that will help drive revenues like naming rights, suites, club seating, interior advertising, food and beverage, rent, merchandising and so forth, officials said.

The task force, which the County Commission is expected to endorse with passage of a resolution Tuesday, would:

• Conduct an economic impact study on the value of a new, state-of-the-art facility.
  
  
• Evaluate potential revenues and expenses and possible financing options with the goal of no public financing. The private sector could help drive revenues through naming rights, suites, club seating, interior advertising, food and beverage, rent, merchandising, etc.
  
  
• Determine most viable location for an events center and define its amenities.
  
  
• Determine current and potential events the Las Vegas Events Center could host.
  
  
• Define options for operation and ownership of a new events center.
  
  
• Establish a project schedule and target completion date.
  
  
• Research viability of professional sports franchise anchor tenant.
  
  
• Examine Las Vegas Valley growth projections through 2017.
  
  
• Evaluate the feasibility of the immediate and long-term use of the Thomas & Mack Center.

By event center standards, the T&M is considered old and the amenities are insufficient compared to those offered at more modern venues around the country. The T&M features just one concourse when other arenas have four. All the suites and food and beverage are served off that concourse, and it becomes congested with people at big events. The T&M also has just 30 suites, no "club" suites prominent at other sites, and the banquet suites, by industry standards, are too small.

Traffic over 23 years has gotten worse. During rush hour, it has been known to take 90 minutes to travel from the Las Vegas Strip via Tropicana Avenue to the T&M Center.

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