ZZZ - GMG - VEGAS INC 2011-2014

In business development former unlv player thinks time is right for his arena plan By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer A privately funded $1.3 billion arena with a retractable roof has been proposed at the former Wet 'n' Wild site on the Strip. Former UNLV and NBA player Jackie Robinson, a Las Vegas businessman, announced plans last month to break ground this year on the 22,000-seat arena that could house basketball, hockey, boxing, rodeos and concerts. No tenants have been signed for the arena, but Robinson has ties to the NBA and has interest in bringing a team to Las Vegas. He said the arena would be large enough to play host to NCAA regional basketball tournaments. Developers have tentatively named the project the All Net Arena and Resort, and the project would include a highend resort with a spa. A promenade called Victory Plaza would lead visitors from Las Vegas Boulevard past lush landscaping and water features to a restaurant, nightclub, wedding chapel and retail amenities as well as the arena. The four-level arena would include 75 luxury boxes: 25 1,000-square-foot executive suites and 50 500-square-foot corporate suites. "I'm really excited about this," Robinson said. "I started on this about four or five years ago, and at the time, the economic conditions didn't help. So we Cuningham Group Architecture, Inc. another plan: An artist's rendering depicts the proposed All Net Arena and Resort. just waited for the right time. We have proper financing in place, the economy is moving in the right direction and our lenders are saying now is the time." Robinson said he and his lenders would meet with representatives of the Clark County Commission in the weeks ahead to answer questions and resolve any problems, including parking. The 862,500-square-foot arena would be built on 27 acres between the yet-toopen SLS Las Vegas and the dormant Fontainebleau project site. Robinson said he has a team of financial backers that includes several banks and international and domestic lenders. Robinson estimates the project would result in more than 19,000 construction, arena and hotel operation jobs, and the project is supported by the federal Minority Business Development Agency. No tax money would be used for the project, but the program would qualify the developers for tax credits. Robinson has hired Minneapolisbased Cuningham Group Architecture, which has an office in Las Vegas. Legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian recruited Robinson, who played for the Runnin' Rebels from 1973-78. He ranks 10th in UNLV career rebounds with 669 and 19th in scoring with 1,258 points. He redshirted one season because of an ankle injury — the season UNLV went to the Final Four in 1976-77. He played four years in the NBA with Seattle, Detroit and Chicago, playing for the SuperSonics team that won the NBA title in 1979. Robinson held executive positions in several Las Vegas companies that worked in retail, real estate, construction, credit, and the food and beverage industries. He was a one-time owner of the Las Vegas Silver Bandits of the defunct International Basketball League. The All Net Arena site was once the proposed location of the Silver State Arena, a project pushed by Texas developer Chris Milam, who had earlier envisioned it as the site of a massive highrise hotel development. Another arena is planned on the opposite end of the Strip. MGM Resorts International is partnering with sports and entertainment promoter AEG on a 20,000-seat indoor facility between New York-New York and the Monte Carlo. A group also is meeting at UNLV to consider a football stadium on the campus. The group hasn't determined the size of the facility or whether it would be a domed stadium. q+A: dale erquiaga state education chief tackling tall test in first few months By Paul Takahashi staff writer Nevada Superintendent Dale Erquiaga has big plans for the state's struggling education system. He has been on the job for less than four months but has dived headfirst into school reform efforts he believes will improve student outcomes. VEGAS INC spoke with Erquiaga about several statewide education initiatives on which he is working. What's your top priority right now? We are moving toward more rigorous academic standards. With these new standards come new assessments and new accountability systems for teachers, principals and schools. Over the next three years, we're focused on implementing all of that and demonstrating improvement. The Board of Education is looking at several new standardized tests for stu| 13 JANUARY 2014 20140113_VI13_F.indd 13 | dents. Why? It's a new era for us. We have an opportunity with the new high school tests to get a lot more information that will be valuable for teachers. We're focusErquiaga ing a lot on testing and accountability, but we need to focus on what we do after the tests. I don't want to preside over a filing cabinet for test data. Instead, I want to look at what we learn from these test results to improve our schools. Some parents and teachers say American students are being overtested. How do you respond to those critics? I don't think we overtest. We certainly test a lot. But again, it's about what are we doing with those test results. Are we using them to help students or just using them for accountability purposes? It's not enough to tell parents that their children's school is underperforming. We have to improve it. We need to play a bigger role in turning schools around. Teachers and principals are also getting a new evaluation system. How is that coming along? The educator performance framework is really an excellent body of work. We want to use this information to help teachers get better at teaching, not make hiring-and-firing decisions. Eventually, though, districts will have to deal with ineffective teachers, just like any business. We also realize that the key to turning a school around is the building leadership. We want to support principals, who in turn support teachers. Most states, after setting up a new teacher evaluation system, use those results to put in place a pay-for-performance system. Is that the plan? A 2011 law allows school districts to work on a performance-based evaluation system. I encourage all districts to begin moving more aggressively in that direction. There's nothing standing in their way. We need to begin prototyping and validating a performance-based system. By 2017, we may see a statewide performance-based system. Recently released education rankings and national test scores peg Nevada students at the bottom of the country. What needs to be done to change that? We have some areas of progress, but there's no doubt we are at the bottom of these rankings nationally, and that has to change. There's no question that Nevada has a long way to go before Nevada is on par with the nation and other countries. Our goal is to provide the best possible education for every child. I hope to effect as much change with these reforms. That's why I took this job. 13 1/9/14 1:28:14 PM

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