Proposed casino could deter companies from locating here, but so could an unfriendly business climate
Will the proposed Cowlitz Casino deter business recruitment?
A recent article in the Las Vegas Review Journal reported that recruiters at the Nevada Development Authority are targeting four key industries: technology, life sciences, transportation and renewable energy. Sound familiar?
The problem is, moving a company means relocating a group of human beings, and recruiting businesses with a high level of sophistication means moving employees who are well trained and in demand, not to mention spouses and children. In one case cited in the story, a company already residing in Vegas was trying to woo new employees.
The spouses were cold on moving to Sin City, naming the Strip as a deterrent. But the families were toured around neighborhoods and suburbs, giving them a taste for regular-old Nevada city life – life off the Strip. They were sold.
In another case, a company running from the “horrible” conditions of doing business in Southern California, was looking for a business-friendly state to settle in. Lower taxes, more affordable workman’s comp insurance, a pool of employees looking for customer service careers as well as affordable homes and a high volume of flights at the nearby airport were the real draws to the area.
And for tech start ups? Nevada offers “instant incorporation” via the Internet and other red tape-free amenities.
And nearby Summerlin, a planned community bordering Las Vegas, offers development of a 60-acre campus to biotech companies that want to locate around the new Nevada Cancer Institute.
Though we remain unconvinced the proposed Casino development will be a boost to business as the tribe suggests, the Clark County business community is divided on whether the proposed Cowlitz Casino will hinder business recruitment to the Discovery Corridor. While the CREDC has not taken an official stand on the casino issue, it is felt that the development would hinder attraction of those industries regularly targeted such as industrial and high tech. Likely instead, the casino would attract retailers. This was the case in Marysville with the Tulalip Casino; however, Matt Smith, director of business development of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, said the casino – retailers and all – is an economic engine for the area.
The debate on the consequences of a casino continues and apparently will for sometime, but the local governments and business community could take its cues from Las Vegas and the state of Nevada. What a location offers companies in order to help them do business in an efficient, profitable manner – fast-lane permitting, a favorable tax and fee structure, unencumbered licensing, a forward-looking transportation plan, affordable housing and four-star education – will outweigh other perceived disadvantages in the long run.
