LAS VEGAS (KTNV — A multi-million dollar donor behind the airport name change from McCarran to Harry Reid International Airport tells me he isn't happy.
It's been three years and the new signage still isn't complete.
Former Diamond Resorts CEO and founder Stephen Cloobeck reached out to me saying he is upset because he donated $2.7 million and also brought in the Kirk Kerkorian Foundation when more money was needed.
Now, he wants to know what's the hold up with the signage.
"We change signs in hotels within months. To not be able to do that throughout the airport is a travesty. It's a travesty to the donors," Cloobeck told me. "This is hard-earned dollars. We did this with no taxpayer dollars. This is private donations. The original budget was $5 million and the signage that they put forth with regard to the monument signs didn't exemplify what the county commission approved. Harry Reid International. Period."
I reached out to Clark County officials for answers.
They sent us a statement that reads in part "Clark County strongly refutes the allegation that the work to change the name of the airport to Harry Reid International has not been moving forward as planned."
The county added the Department of Aviation has been transparent with the process and since the project started, during the pandemic, supply chain issues and rising construction costs have impacted projects.
I asked Cloobeck what he thinks about the county's response and he called it a "bunch of word salad".
"I don't believe that some of the county employees liked this from day one and they have fought this tooth and nail," Cloobeck said. "We want transparency. We want to know where the money has been spent. We want accountability. We want to see timelines of execution. The state did put the signage together instantaneously. The state. Why is it taking the county so long?"
According to the county, there are several major signs that are scheduled to be completed in the fall: the monument signs at Tropicana and Paradise and Tropicana and Koval as well as the Welcome to Las Vegas signs at the D and E gates.
