The ultimate goal of working with Cordish Co. on a new downtown Vegas arena is to land an NBA team, according to Mayor Oscar Goodman.
The ultimate goal of working with Cordish Co. on a new downtown Vegas arena is to land an NBA team, according to Mayor Oscar Goodman.
The City Council is expected to sign an exclusive negotiating agreement with the Baltimore-based developer, during which time Cordish will study the project and probably come back with some sort of proposal for a new arena/hotel/casino/entertainment complex on 12 acres of downtown land that currently includes City Hall.
Goodman says the goal for the deal is an NBA team, though he says the NHL remains interested in the city. (Probably less so these days than even a few months ago.) No surprise: the city has done a lot to woo the NBA. With the owners of the Sacramento Kings having extensive holdings in Vegas — the Maloofs own the Palms casino complex — it would seem there are a lot of good connections there.
One issue facing Vegas has been the lack of a suitable NBA facility: Thomas & Mack Center would be a stopgap home at best. With this proposal, that shortcoming is directly addressed.
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