Alex Meruelo, the former owner of the Arizona Coyotes, is seeking public funds for a new ice rink in Reno, Nevada, according to a report on Tuesday.
Ben Margiott of Nevada Sports Net, citing an agenda for a meeting of the city’s Redevelopment Agency Board, reported that a group called Power Sports Development submitted an application for tax-increment financing for the estimated $1-billion arena project. Tax-increment financing allows developers to receive a subsidy in exchange for the additional property tax revenues expected from a large project.
The arena would be located at the Grand Sierra Resort, a casino owned by Meruelo. Margiott reported that the 10,000-seat rink would be home to the University of Nevada’s men’s basketball team and a potential American Hockey League team.
The new project would also include a satellite ice rink, a dedicated parking garage, a fan zone and workforce housing, Margiott reported.
Earlier this year, Meruelo sold the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes to Smith Entertainment Group, which moved the team to Utah. (Meruelo sold the team for $1.2 billion, with $200 million of that going to the remaining NHL owners.) Mereulo remains the owner of Utah’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners.
As part of his agreement to sell the Coyotes, Meruelo was given a five-year window to build a new arena in Arizona for a future NHL expansion team. However, Meruelo walked away from that agreement in June after a land auction for a property that would have been home to a new arena was delayed.
