The Aces Edge

From the RGJ:

The Reno City Council agreed Wednesday to postpone consideration at the Katzoffs’ request until later this month or February. Some council members have considered new shops, restaurants and entertainment venues as important to revitalize downtown as the stadium.

Under the current contract, SK Baseball and Nevada Land, owned by Simon and the Katzoffs, are entitled to up to $2 million a year in property taxes from new development in the baseball district for 20 years. They now want the city to guarantee a $1 million a year starting this year to soothe their financial backers.

More from Downtown Makeover:

Stuart [Katzoff] started to speak, and was abruptly cut off by Mayor Cashell who simply and pointedly asked "Let me ask you one question, are you gonna finish the baseball stadium?" That prompted Katzoff to dispel rumors and media reports that this has to do with the actual ballpark itself. That deal is done, the stadium is being built, and no additional money is being asked for that.

Related: Phase 2 Renderings Presented to City Council

SK Baseball released renderings of the ballpark project's proposed retail portion, presented to the Reno City Council January 14 as part of their effort to convince the city to help them finance this part of the project.

See all the renderings in the Photo Gallery.

The press release:

SK Baseball today revealed its newest set of renderings, illustrating the state-of-the-art downtown ballpark and its accompanying entertainment district.
 
The ballpark, located at the corner of 2nd and Evans in the heart of downtown Reno, represents the first phase in a multi-tiered project from SK Baseball. The stadium is being constructed at an unprecedented pace, and the facility is on schedule for the Reno Aces’ April 17 home opener vs. the Salt Lake Bees, Triple-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
 
The supplementary entertainment district will feature three restaurants—one encompassing the historic freight house—, three nightclubs and an outdoor events plaza in front of the stadium. Much of the entertainment district’s infrastructure is already in place, and the final product will culminate in one of the finest fan experiences in all of professional sports.
 
The latest renderings released from SK Baseball include detailed depictions of the entire complex, including views from inside both sides of the ballpark, street-level landscapes and interior vantage points from several sections of the entertainment district.
 
“We’re very passionate about this entire project, so it’s gratifying to share these renderings with the entire City of Reno,” said SK Baseball Managing Partner Stuart Katzoff. “The ballpark is literally being built before our eyes and is nearing completion, but these artist renderings will let us share our vision of the downtown entertainment district with the residents of this city.”

KRNV-TV reports that after a demand from about 30 Reno firefighters, the city council agreed Wednesday to post a crew at the police substation in the National Bowling Stadium until the temporary fire stations at the Grand Sierra Resort and at 4th and Valley Road can be completed, probably by August or September.

Until then, the crews from Fire Station No. 1 will be dispersed to three fire stations north of downtown, says the RGJ:

Four crew members and a pumper fire truck are to work from Station 2 on north Sutro Street. Four firefighters and a ladder truck will be at Station 10 on North Virginia Street near the Bonanza Casino. Two firefighters on a rescue truck will work from Station 4 at Ralston and 11th streets.

The last shift at the downtown station is scheduled for Tuesday, after which the building will be emptied in preparation for its official transfer to the ballpark developers on June 1.

Firefighters are concerned that extended response time to downtown from the northern stations could endanger lives, and in the event of a major earthquake, the downtown core could be isolated from emergency response should bridges over the Truckee River and train trench collapse.

Local firefighters union president Richard Nachtsheim said to protect downtown, responders “will stay in tents if they have to.”

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: The firefighters got hosed in this deal, and the city council needs to own up and apologize to these guys. 

The city council has approved a revised alignment of the Truckee River path through the Ballpark District. The original plan had the path turn away from the river between the proposed Waterfront District development and the existing Waterfront Plaza office building.

The new path turns north on Lake Street, then east on Second Street past the two "Waterfront" developments, across NevInn Street (named after the erstwhile motel), then across Second. The path then heads east past the pallpark back to the river at the Kuenzli Street bridge and west to Evans Avenue, where it turns north through the ballpark plaza up to the 4th Street Transit Station.

The new route avoids sending the path through a forbidding concrete canyon created by the abutting walls of the two highrises south of Second Street.

Update 04/20/08: Click here to see the revised alignment.

The RGJ reported last week that the city council had approved an alternate route for the Ballpark District river walkway, one that would allow the seven-story Hyatt Summerfield Suites to be built on the Nevada Inn site without the required 50-foot setback from the Truckee River.

Instead of following the river past the new hotel, the path will dogleg to the north along the west side of the Waterfront Plaza office building and then turn east along Second Street past the baseball stadium, returning to the river at the Kuenzli Street bridge.

The path will also spur north through the proposed public plaza on Evans west of the ballpark to the new downtown bus station, opening in 2010, at Plaza Street.

The highlight of today's groundbreaking had to be after the ceremony, when Hizzoner himself took the controls of a giant Caterpillar excavator and went medieval on the River Apartments. It looked like Mr. Cashell wanted to do the whole thing himself, and I have no doubt he could have — given the way he handled that monster machine. Go Mayor Bob!

Susan Voyles reports on RGJ's website that "[t]o stretch a $10 million loan from baseball stadium developers to finance relocating the downtown fire station, the Reno City Council agreed Wednesday to make two planned temporary stations last 20 years rather than five."

Stadium developers agreed to loan the city $10 million for relocation of Fire Station No.1, which is in the way of the new ballpark. The tab for building the "temporary" stations is $3.5 million, with an additional $1.5 million charged to moving the computer information department to City Hall, and $5 million to buy land for the new permanent downtown station.

The upshot: no money left to actually build that station. According to the RGJ story, "Councilman Dave Aiazzi estimated building the new station could cost another $17 million."

The council will ask the baseball folks for more time to vacate the station. No word on how that might impact the scheduled mid-February groundbreaking.