Q&A
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Melissa Matson
Wealth Advisor, 20+ years
MELISSA MATSON IS REGISTERED WITH AND SECURITIES ARE OFFERED THROUGH KOVACK SECURITIES, INC. MEMBER FINRA/SIPC. ADVISORY SERVICES ARE OFFERED THROUGH KOVACK ADVISORS, INC., AN SEC REGISTERED ADVISOR. 6451 N FEDERAL HWY, #1201, FT LAUDERDALE, FL 33308 (954) 782-4771 MRS WEALTH ADVISORS IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH KOVACK SECURITIES, INC OR KOVACK ADVISORS, INC. THIS INFORMATION DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ADVICE IN THE AREAS OF LEGAL OR TAX ADVICE. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SEEK GUIDANCE AND ADVICE OF YOUR OWN LEGAL AND TAX ADVISOR. ESTATE PLANNING IS DONE IN CONJUNCTION WITH YOUR ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY, TAX ATTORNEY OR CPA
42 | D E S E R T
C O M PA N I O N
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MARCH 2018
Memphis, and (its new stadium) has this kids zone that has those splash pads — it’s a simple thing, but it’s a fun element that we don’t have (at Cashman). Also, the pool, because of the heat here, is going to be wildly successful. We’re going to have themed food-and-beverage areas throughout, and the club area is going to be absolutely unbelievable.
Since Hughes owns the team, it makes sense that they would choose to build the stadium in Summerlin. But is there any concern about moving from the center of town to a more isolated part of the valley? Because most tickets these days are purchased with credit cards, you can look at ZIP code data, and what we learned was that 38 percent of our fans come from the northwest and Summerlin, while 37 percent come from Green Valley and Henderson. So basically, 75 percent of our fan base comes from those areas. So we got on the 215 at Green Valley Parkway and drove here (via) two routes: the 15 north to the 95 south, and the 215 east to the 515 north. What we determined was, because of traffic, it’s a shorter drive time-wise going from Green Valley Parkway and the 215 to the new stadium site than it is to Cashman. So it’s actually going to be easier and faster for our core fans — and 75 percent is a significant number — to get to the ballpark. And now you have restaurants and shopping at Downtown Summerlin, plus Red Rock (Resort) — all the different pre- and postgame elements that our fans don’t have now. How critical was it to secure the stadium naming rights agreement with the LVCVA, and was it an easy sell? Nothing is easy. Not one bit of this has been easy! (Laughs.) But it made sense, because the convention authority is (also) the fair and recreation board for Clark County. And one of their charges when (Cashman Center) was built was they’re the overseer of professional baseball in the valley. You add that to the amount of money this place was costing them to operate, and to be able to get out from under that, it just made sense. It truly is a win-win. As you know, Southern Nevada’s pro sports landscape has changed dramatically with the arrival of the NHL and, soon, the NFL, WNBA, and a new minor-league soccer team. In what way does this new competition affect the 51s? If you compare us to the Knights and Raiders, we play in the summertime. We overlap a little at the end of the hockey season maybe and the beginning of the football season, but
not much. So that doesn’t change. And then there are the price points. What’s going to be a premium ticket price for us doesn’t even get you in the door at a Knights game. So that really isn’t competition. We have different audiences, too. I think we’re going to increase our aim of targeting families — that’s the core constituency of minor-league baseball, and now we have the right kind of place where people can really enjoy it and come out more often.
Does it also help that this is becoming more of a sports town? Definitely. I’ve never understood why more people who live here don’t go to sporting events. I think it’s going to be good for all of us — for UNLV, for the Knights, for the Raiders, and it’s certainly for us and for the soccer team — to get people used to going to sporting events. I’ve said this, and I’m not sure it’s the right terminology, but (the 51s are) a normal entertainment option in a city that has the most unique entertainment options of any market in the country. Until places like Downtown Summerlin, if you wanted to go see a movie, you had to go to a casino. If you want to go bowling, you go to a casino. This is going to be more normal. You’re going to go to a beautiful new professional ballpark like you would see in any city in the country. So the Golden Knights are here, the Raiders are coming, and speculation is that the WNBA’s presence here is a precursor to Las Vegas landing an NBA team. Which begs the question: What are the odds Major League Baseball takes a swing at Southern Nevada? Well, what are we, the 40th media market in the country? There’s only so much money in the market. There aren’t suburbs here, you don’t have the business base, and we’re still a real mono-dimensional economy — tourism is it. So to generate the type of sponsorship revenue and season-ticket revenue — and the Raiders are going to be looking for seat-license revenue — that to me is going to make it tough to go beyond the NHL and NFL. The best chance for Major League Baseball in Las Vegas is if there’s expansion, and there are murmurs about that because there are two 15-team leagues right now, which means that every day you have interleague play. I think you need to have 32 teams in baseball — 16 teams in the American League, 16 in the National League — to balance out everything. And certainly, if (expansion) happens, Vegas is going to be one of the top candidates for one of those new teams. ✦