Results of a survey done by Research 2000 to gauge community support for a Reno-Tahoe 2018 Winter Olympic Games bid is expected to be presented to the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition Friday. It will be made public next week, reports the Associated Press (AP).
The survey also included a willingness to use tax money to help finance a 2018 bid, said Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki, chairman of the Nevada Commission on Tourism and supporter of the bid. He said while most of the money to finance the Games would come from private sources, taxes would have to be part of the equation.
Krolicki is quoted by AP saying, “the tax money would be used for improvements of the infrastructure” including transportation needs and facilities at the University of Nevada, Reno, but he said it deals with more than taxes.
“It is a broad questionnaire, just to see where people are. But if the overwhelming response is no taxpayer dollars in any way should be used to fund the Olympic effort, then I think we will take that to heart. But it changes the quality of what we will be able to do and the infrastructure we feel we need to be successful”.
He added, “we can anticipate certainly areas like Denver to put a bid forward. They have spent millions of dollars already in preparing their bid. So, we need to make sure we have the wherewithal and the assets to do this well”.
Reno Mayor Bob Cashell said that since the 2018 Games were still a decade away it is too early to be alarmed about using tax money. He said, “there is no question that a tax would have to be part of the overall game plan. But it is hard for me to say. I have not seen their budgets and I have not seen how much corporate money would be coming in because it is going to be a lot more expensive 10 years later than it would be now.
“If the prices go up 10 per cent a year, well, I don’t know what taxes they would be earmarking. Are they talking about a fuel tax or property tax, room tax or a tax on liquor?”
AP reports that Jim VandenHeuvel, CEO of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition, also said taxes are not a major focus. He said, “I don’t want to tip on the survey until my board has seen it. Taxation was not one of the primary issues”.
Krolicki said the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games that cost $1.3 billion would be used as a model for a possible Reno-Tahoe Winter Games. He added that more than $500 million in federal, state and local taxes were used to help fund the Salt Lake City Games.
