Reno Downtown Events Center — Brownfields Project
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Reno Downtown Events Center — Brownfields Project
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 n January 2004, the Reno Redevelopment Agency began construction of a new
Events Center
in downtown Reno that will serve as host to conferences, concerts, and sporting events conveniently located within blocks of all the downtown casino resorts.
The project was identified as a priority project in the on-going revitalization of Reno and the scenic Truckee River corridor. (To learn more about the on-going efforts of the Reno Redevelopment Agency , please visit their website and read about the various projects being undertaken in downtown.) The Events Center project was envisioned as an extension of the National Bowling Stadium, which continues to draw numerous tourists and tournaments to the Reno area. The city block north of the Stadium was identified as the preferred project location (View Map) but during investigation of the site it was noted that three parcels had served historically as auto repair and fueling facilities starting in the 1920s. (See Map of the Reno Events Center parcel, prior to construction - Adobe PDF file 230KB  ).
Historic auto repair activities took place at both of the southern properties and also at the northwest corner of the site. One of the parcels had been occupied by a gas station on a continuous basis since 1929 or earlier. The Reno Redevelopment Agency applied to the Nevada Brownfields Program for assessment funding on the three parcels identified as potentially contaminated due to historic site uses . A Target Brownfields Assessment Grant was awarded to the City through the services of one of the Nevada Brownfields Program's environmental consultants. Through the installation of several groundwater monitoring wells and the collection soil samples, scattered areas of petroleum hydrocarbon contamination were discovered. Solvent contamination was also discovered in the shallow groundwater. The Redevelopment agency moved forward with site construction after
During construction, excavated soils that were found to be contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons were properly disposed and clean fill was used to support the overlying structure. Site construction was completed in December of 2004, and the Events Center was available for its grand opening on New Years of 2005. For more information on the Downtown Events Center, please contact the Reno Redevelopment Agency (775) 334-2077 or the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Brownfields Program at (775) 687-9368. For show scheduling at the Events Center, please visit the Reno/Sparks Convention and Visitor's Authority.
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