Revenue from Las Vegas room taxes surges in January
Revenue from room tax collections have reversed a three-month downward trend, producing the second-highest monthly level since collections began in March 2017.
The Las Vegas Stadium Authority on Monday reported collections of hotel tax revenue from Clark County, Las Vegas and Boulder City reached $4.7 million in January, 4 percent above projections. Revenue from Henderson and North Las Vegas has yet to be added to the total.
County officials collected less than the budgeted amount in the last three months of 2017 and four times in the previous five months.
January’s total, second only to March 2017 for collections, was attributed to strong visitation for New Year’s Eve, CES and other major conventions staged in Las Vegas in January. Officials have predicted February also would be strong due to the shift of Lunar New Year to February.
Room tax revenue would pay principal and interest for bonds projected to be issued in late April.
Agenda posted
The Stadium Authority also posted the agenda for its Thursday meeting that will begin at 9 a.m. at the Clark County Government Center.
The agenda includes a presentation by the Oakland Raiders on the stadium design and a guaranteed maximum price design-build agreement with the general contractor, Mortenson Construction of Minneapolis.
The team offered no further details on the price, estimated at $1.9 billion, which includes $100 million for a practice facility and team headquarters. Last week, Don Webb, chief operating officer of LV Stadium Co., a Raiders subsidiary, said he would not disclose the guaranteed maximum price until it was first given to Stadium Authority board members.
Jeremy Aguero, principal at Las Vegas-based Applied Analysis, which serves as staff to the Stadium Authority, said even though the public commitment of funds is locked at $750 million, Senate Bill 1, the legislation establishing the public financing, requires disclosure of a guaranteed maximum price because it also involves the Raiders’ approximately $1.1 billion contribution to the project through personal-seat license revenue, a loan from Bank of America and a loan through the National Football League’s G-4 stadium financing program that owners are expected to approve when they meet March 26-28 in Orlando, Florida.
Committee adds tweaks
Aguero also said the NFL’s finance committee has reviewed documents tentatively approved by the authority board and forwarded them with tweaks being incorporated into items for final approval Thursday and at a special authority meeting March 28.
Thursday’s lengthy agenda — it has 31 items — will include final approvals or modifications of several matters required by Senate Bill 1, the legislation approved in a special session of the Nevada Legislature in October 2016.
The bill applies an additional tax of 0.88 percent to rooms rented on the Strip and some nearby areas to the west and south, and 0.5 percent to rooms within the remainder of the stadium district, an area within a 25-mile radius of the Clark County Government Center near downtown.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
