Commissioners should rename airport, but not after Harry Reid

Placing an individual’s name on an airport is tricky because there’s always the possibility that the name of a polarizing public figure could offend someone — not that anyone wanting to come to Las Vegas would cancel their trip if it meant flying to Harry Reid International Airport. I’ve never heard of anyone canceling their trip to Las Vegas because the late Sen. Pat McCarran’s name is on the airport, although proponents of the name change have cited his legacy as having racist and xenophobic views.

Changing the name to Las Vegas International would bolster the tourism brand of our city. Leaders in Northern Nevada got it right by naming their airport for Reno and Lake Tahoe.

It’s highly likely the Reid change will be approved by commissioners because the Democrats on the commission don’t want to stand in the way of a party hero.

There actually is a good way to honor Reid while naming our existing airport Las Vegas International. Eventually, the reliever airport south of Las Vegas in the Ivanpah Valley is going to be built. Why not name that airport Harry Reid International? After all, if it wasn’t for Reid, that Bureau of Land Management property would never have been available to the county for an airport. And, it’s closer geographically to Searchlight and Reid’s historic roots.

Changing McCarran International Airport to Harry Reid International Airport is a bad idea.

Tahoe’s tourism opportunity

The Nevada Commission on Tourism is going to miss a golden opportunity to market rural Nevada tourism this week, thanks to the coronavirus-shattered state budget.

The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche will play a game Saturday on a rink built on the 18th fairway of the Edgewood Tahoe Resort overlooking Lake Tahoe. On Feb. 21, the rink will be the setting for a game between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers.

The NHL has scheduled outdoor games in stadiums for years, but this will be the first time the league has staged outdoor games in a rural setting. Anyone who has seen Lake Tahoe knows that it’s strikingly beautiful with the snowcapped Sierras ringing the lake’s deep blue waters. Phil Weidinger, who provides public relations for Edgewood, visited the site last week and told me it’s going to be memorable for television viewers.

The Commission on Tourism regularly capitalizes on Lake Tahoe when it markets the rugged beauty of rural Nevada. It usually accomplishes that through a strong social media presence to promote its TravelNevada brand and guides potential visitors to its website to offer free Nevada travel literature.

Occasionally, the commission will pop for paid television advertising, usually on a regional basis on minor networks.

But for next weekend’s NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe series, commission officials say there’s no way for it to afford to buy ads to promote the state when it needs it most.

Chris McCloskey, vice president of communications for the NBC Sports Group, which is broadcasting the games nationally, said the company doesn’t predict viewership numbers and negotiates individually with clients on ad rates. But the past two Winter Classic Outdoors games drew audiences of nearly 2 million viewers in 2019 and 1 million in 2020. Both of those games were played in prime time while the Lake Tahoe games will be in the afternoon.

Ad Age, in 2019, reported that NBC was seeking $200,000 per 30-second spot for a Game 7 Stanley Cup match. The Lake Tahoe games shouldn’t be nearly as pricey.

In addition to the commission being able to promote rural Nevada, Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, said the broadcast would promote winter sports at Lake Tahoe and even call attention to the Tahoe South Events Center that will open in 2023 and could potentially host future NHL games. Chaplin envisioned the possibility of that arena someday being home to a regular series between the Golden Knights and the closest geographic rival, the San Jose Sharks.

But what about next weekend?

Time is short, but here’s an idea. Knowing that professional sports can help lead us out of the pandemic, could the charitable foundations of the Golden Knights and the Las Vegas Raiders find a way to purchase ad time to promote TravelNevada? It’s definitely a stretch since the Vegas Golden Knights Foundation traditionally supports education and youth sports, military and first responders and health and wellness. The Raiders Foundation backs military and veterans, youth development and youth football.

But desperate times call for desperate measures, and the state, which put up $750 million to help build Allegiant Stadium, could definitely use the help on the tourism front.

“It comes down to getting the best bang for the buck,” said Nevada Tourism Commissioner Herb Santos. “And this is a visual opportunity to promote our area to hockey fans all over the world.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.