In Carson: $2M incentive for old Wal-Mart likely

The owner of the vacant Wal-Mart building in South Carson will probably get a $2 million city incentive to attract a sporting goods store.

Three out of the four city supervisors who will vote on the proposal said they will definitely support the incentive for Robert Rothe, owner of City Management Services, which manages the building.

Mayor Marv Teixeira said he isn't sure if he will vote for the proposal at the board meeting Thursday. If he does, he said, "It better be a hell of a deal."

Supervisor Shelly Aldean will not vote because of a conflict of interests. Aldean's business, Glenbrook Co., owns property near the old Wal-Mart building.

If the proposal passes, the $2 million Rothe will get to bring in Sportsman's Warehouse will be given as tax rebates. The store will pay sales taxes and the city will reimburse the $2 million over 15 years.

In August, Rothe got $2 million in redevelopment funds to help bring in Burlington Coat Factory. Redevelopment funds are taken from business property taxes in South Carson.

Both Teixeira and Supervisor Richard Staub had said the $2.5 million incentive City Economic Development Manager Joe McCarthy proposed at the board's Oct. 18 meeting was too much, but Staub said he will now support the incentive "ever so cautiously."

It's been trimmed, he said, and the city would have a new source of sales tax revenue, estimated to be $300,000 a year.

McCarthy has said this is double the taxes the city would get from another tenant, which would probably be a discount store.

Sportsman's Warehouse will also help the entire area by the business it attracts, McCarthy said, adding that it is a great opportunity because the store could easily open in a new building for a cheaper price in Douglas County.

The store has said it is looking at opening a store either in Carson City or Douglas.

If it does come to Carson, it will reconstruct 55,000 square feet of the building. Burlington Coat Factory will move into 70,000 square-feet and plans to open in February.

Supervisor Pete Livermore said the incentive for the store is a long-term investment that will "bring energy" to South Carson.

"We're growing our sales tax in this case," he said. "You let that building sit there, or you can partner with someone this developer and generate an additional $300,000 for the city ... You can't let it (the building) sit there and do nothing."

Supervisor Robin Williamson, also head of the city's redevelopment authority, has strongly supported the incentive since it was proposed and said it was a way of "stimulating that whole corridor" in South Carson.

In May, Rothe bought the building for $8.5 million from Max Baer Jr.

The former TV personality had planned to use it as the site for his Beverly Hillbillies casino, which he now plans to build in Douglas County.

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.