Downtown Soccer Fields are the New Neon Line Distraction but Where is the Infrastructure?
A City Hall pivot, a disappearing neighborhood, and a promise of tournaments but nothing else. Jacobs Entertainment does another slight-of-hand play in West Reno.
Oct 28, 2025
Let’s rewind to Wednesday afternoon inside Reno City Hall. Jacobs Entertainment is at the podium again. Not to explain what happened to the housing they promised. Not to show progress on all the land they leveled.
The presentation was about the continuing remodel of the J Resort. They gave an update on the art installations and talked about charging stations and the concerts at the Glow Plaza and Festival Grounds, but beyond that, not much.
Then they pivoted, and the rest of the presentation was about proposed youth sports and playing fields. Twelve new youth sports fields! Lacrosse too! Tournaments! Visitors! Energy! Tourism! Heads in beds!
Councilmembers smiled politely. Local media wrote glowing headlines. It felt like a pep rally. But outside, a few blocks away, the flattened remains of what used to be a neighborhood sit behind fences. The lots are empty. The promises are too.
This is the moment where residents are supposed to forget what came before. We’re supposed to pivot right along with Jacobs. Accepting the buzz of shiny new possibilities, but without much in the way of a plan.
Jacobs Promised Housing. People got displaced
Three years ago, the sales pitch was different.
Jacobs would bring new housing to downtown. More residents. More life. More community. The West 2nd Street neighborhood would be reborn into a dignified, modern, and vibrant community.
So tenants were bought out or pushed out. Buildings were bulldozed. Motels vanished almost overnight. And then… nothing. Except for the 245 Arlington Apartments. No housing. No mixed-use buildings. No rebirth.
Just parking lots, a Glow Plaza, and a Festival Grounds waiting for events that draw fewer people than promised.
Jacobs Neon Line: Promises Unfulfilled in West Reno
Where are the results for Phase One
If Jacobs wants applause for Phase Two, they should show results for Phase One:
• Where is the housing?
• Where is the neighborhood?
• Where is the follow-through?
Reno has been burned before by big visions that never quite materialize. We shouldn’t let “kids playing soccer” become a shield that protects a developer from accountability.
Promise anything loudly enough, and some people will stop asking whether you ever delivered the last thing you said.
Jacobs Entertainment may see this as a pivot. Residents deserve to see it as a pattern.
The $2 Billion Mirage: Has Jeff Jacobs’ Downtown Reno Vision Stalled?
Now They Promise Playing Fields
The presentation was full of exciting phrases:
“Walking distance of J Resort,”
“Land secured for four sites,”
“Twelve fields in six years.”
What’s missing is:
• Exact parcel listings,
• Economic analysis,
• Land acquisition transparency,
• Explanation of public access rules.
No One Answered These Questions
Why will teams come when Reno isn’t a youth sports destination? There are other well-known destinations such as Grand Park (Westfield, IN), opened in June 2014, Publix Sports Park + Frank Brown Park (Panama City Beach, FL), opened in 2019, and Cedar Lane Regional Park (Harford County, MD), opened in 2008, and many more, see this article, Six Youth Sports Facilities Producing Major Economic Impact.
How can Jacobs hold tournaments without supporting infrastructure beyond simple sports fields? It’s not likely. Other venues have field houses, event centers, locker rooms, showers, and toilets, which are necessary for tournaments.
How will Jacobs ramp up attendance so quickly when other destinations have taken years to attract tournaments? They won’t. It takes years. They won’t have enough fields for a major tournament for several years.
What is the income potential from the sports fields? They haven’t done projections beyond throwing out a few numbers, and I won’t since there is too much information missing to do a credible job.
Will the sports fields sustain Jacobs’ development in Reno? It’s not possible to determine, as Jacobs doesn’t provide any income projections and doesn’t publish its accounting records.
Jacobs says Trust us
They want the City to give public legitimacy to a plan that is little more than a concept slide deck. Reno can’t keep trading commitments for colorful renderings.
Let’s be clear: youth sports are great. Soccer fields are needed. Lacrosse players deserve space, too. “Trust us” is not a development plan.
Until a road map exists, this isn’t a development plan. It’s marketing.
It might work out for local teams to practice and play, but national tournaments!
How Reno Lost Its Opportunity for a Modern Neon Line Resort
City staff didn’t speak. Council flew blind
This was supposed to be an accountability check-in.
The City Council was entitled to know whether Jacobs had:
• Complied with conditions of the Glow Plaza permit
• Met housing and community development benchmarks
• Honored timelines written into the Development Agreement
When the City can’t assess performance, a developer can redefine “progress” however they want. That’s how “housing” quietly morphs into “hotel-driven soccer tourism.”
This might be the most alarming part. At the October Council meeting, Jacobs chose the agenda item. Jacobs gave the presentation. Jacobs controlled the narrative.
When the City asks for nothing, a developer can claim anything.
Reno City Council Meeting 10-22-25
You can watch the Jacobs presentation at 1:30 in this meeting recording.
The Story That the Local Media Missed
The headlines all sounded the same:
“Jacobs bringing youth sports boom to Reno!”
“Positive investment downtown!”
“Great news for families!”
No one asked:
• Why this pitch arrived only after the housing plan stalled
• Why rough ideas are treated as guaranteed outcomes
• Why the City didn’t get a staff analysis
• Why does every Jacobs promise arrive with a camera crew before a development plan
Cheerleading is cheaper than journalism, and that is what the local press does.
Reno can Love Youth Sports and Demand Good Governance
This isn’t about opposing sports fields. This is about requiring the same basic performance standards that every homeowner, small business, and nonprofit in this City must meet daily.
Jacobs has a 20-year Development Agreement. We are 3 years into the plan, and Jacobs is 8 years into the Neon Line project. Let’s get this right.
The City and the public should ask for:
An economic analysis of the project and its impact on Reno.
A parcel map of all 12 proposed fields
A detailed timeline for construction
A maintenance and access plan guaranteeing local usage
A fundamental public oversight role before major pivots are endorsed
Kids deserve fields. Residents deserve results. Reno deserves both.
Because every time a developer promises Reno the world, the public deserves to know whether they’re showing us a future or a mirage.