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Final events center approval could happen in March

Kurt Hildebrand / Record Courier
Renderings of a proposed events center in Stateline.
Provided / Tahoe Douglas Visitor’s Authority

STATELINE, Nev. — Final approval of an events center at Stateline could occur as soon as March 25, according to the Tahoe Douglas Visitors Authority.

According to the authority’s website, the authority will seek a commitment from Douglas County commissioners for a $34.25 million pledge from Redevelopment Area No. 2 at their March 19 meeting in Stateline.

Organizers of a petition drive to put a redevelopment area on the ballot are urging residents to attend Thursday’s county commission meeting.



While residents will be able to participate in general public comment at the meeting’s opening and end, the agenda item will only be a presentation on the status and studies of the project and the approval process through the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

Whether public comment is allowed after the presentation is up to Commission Chairman Barry Penzel.



Redevelopment at Stateline was approved in 2016 specifically to help fund a year-around events center at Lake Tahoe.

The approval of a second redevelopment area in Douglas County coincided with the repeal of the first redevelopment area, which stretched from the retail area in Topsy along the foothills south to Genoa.

Redevelopment Area No. 1 was repealed effective July 1, 2018, and the remaining money in its coffers is being used for improvements in Nevada’s oldest town.

Redevelopment Area No. 2 opponents Dave Maxwell, Ted Gaines, Tom Starrett, Greg Brown, and Patrick Tafoya have until the last week in April to turn in 2,613 signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

Even if they are successful, and voters repeal the redevelopment area, it would be July 1, 2021, before the redevelopment area would stop collecting taxes.

Opponents say the redevelopment area will collect $110 million over the next 30 years, of which slightly more than a quarter will go to the county’s general fund.

In November 2019, county commissioners removed the Douglas County School District from the area under a new law approved by the Nevada Legislature.

That removal sunsets on July 1, 2021, because the state is changing how school districts are funded.


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