The $35 Million Kickoff: Reno Pro Soccer’s Stadium Gamble
A proposed soccer Stadium Wrapped in Hype and Controversy. What is really going on? Here is what the news is not telling you.
Oct 21, 2025
You may have seen the news stories and the television coverage. There sure is a lot of it, but they don’t dig into what is happening behind the scenes. This isn’t the first time that Wendy Damonte and a group of investors have tried to get something going. Just look up the South Meadows soccer stadium controversy from a year ago.
Reno’s newest sports dream comes packaged in glossy renderings and sound bites: a USL Championship soccer team led by television personality Wendy Damonte and local developer Todd Davis.
The project, branded Reno Pro Soccer, promises to bring professional men’s soccer back to the Truckee Meadows. Its online shop already invites fans to “Reserve Your Spot for the 2027 Inaugural Season.”
Yet beneath the excitement lies a troubling reality.
According to city records, no permits have been filed, no environmental or traffic review has begun, and the state’s Real Estate Division has received a formal complaint alleging a violation of Nevada’s NRS 119B — a statute that prohibits collecting money for unapproved or unbuilt facilities.
Wendy Damonte pitches the project at a press event, admitting that it’s not all in place.
The Expensive Land Deal
The chosen site is the former Jones-West Ford dealership at 3600 Kietzke Lane, roughly 27 acres of mixed-use land just south of the Reno Sparks Convention Center.
County assessor data show that on September 8, 2025, the property sold for $16.5 million to NYTDAW-North LLC, one of two companies created by Davis in June 2025.
Together, the two parcels total roughly $35 million — purchased months before any city entitlement or financing plan existed.
A “Fait Accompli” Strategy
When Davis purchased the Kietzke parcels in September 2025, the deal price—$1.3 million per acre—suggested entitlement certainty. Developers typically buy after approvals, not before. By moving ahead with marketing, branding, and ticket deposits, Damonte’s team projects inevitability, daring city planners to say no. But without a CUP or financing clarity, the strategy borders on “approve-it-later” urban planning—a maneuver that risks both legal scrutiny and public backlash. This is the same strategy that Jacobs Entertainment used for their Festival Grounds.
The Missing Conditional Use Permit
City planning staff confirmed in writing on October 13, 2025, that no project application is under review and that “a stadium or sports arena requires a Conditional Use Permit (CUP).”
That public hearing process can take months and invites neighborhood comment, traffic analysis, and environmental review.
Until a CUP is approved, no outdoor stadium can legally break ground in Reno. Despite that, Reno Pro Soccer’s website markets the team as a done deal and collects deposits as if the stadium were already cleared.
Many elected officials, notably mayoral candidate Kathleen Taylor, showed up for the festivities, but they didn’t seem to be asking questions.
Selling Tickets to a Stadium That Doesn’t Exist
The project’s online shop advertises: “Each $27 deposit reserves one seat. Deposits are non-refundable and limited to 10 per account.”
Those words triggered a Statement of Fact (Form 514) filed with the Nevada Real Estate Division’s Compliance Office in Las Vegas, alleging that the sale of “non-refundable deposits” violates NRS 119B, the state’s Membership Campground and Pre-Sales statute.
Mariluz Garcia, Washoe County Commissioner District 3, Kathleen Taylor, Reno Ward 1 Councilmember, and Miguel Martinez, Reno Ward 3 Council Member.
What NRS 119B Says
Under NRS 119B.120–.140, it is unlawful to:
Offer to sell or receive money for the right to use or occupy a facility until the project is registered and approved by the Real Estate Division.
Misrepresent the availability or status of the property or facility being sold.
Collect non-refundable deposits from the public on unregistered projects.
The intent is simple: protect Nevadans from paying for something that does not yet legally exist.
In this case, Reno Pro Soccer is soliciting money for access to a stadium that has no permit, no construction plan, and no league-approved franchise. That places the deposits squarely within the zone of potential regulatory violation.
The State Steps In
The Form 514 complaint now sits with the Nevada Real Estate Division’s Compliance Office.
Investigators can:
Demand documentation of how deposits are handled.
Require proof of registration or escrow compliance; and
Order the promoters to cease collecting money until approvals are in place.
If substantiated, the violation could trigger civil fines and mandatory refunds—and place Damonte’s high-profile project under a legal cloud before the first shovel of dirt is turned.
Why It Matters
The significance of this situation goes far beyond soccer. As of mid-October 2025, no Conditional Use Permit (CUP) has been filed with the City of Reno—a legal prerequisite for any outdoor stadium. Without that approval, the project has no official standing and could be halted at any time. Yet Damonte and her partners have already begun collecting $27 non-refundable deposits from the public for seats in a stadium that does not exist. This action appears to violate NRS 119B, Nevada’s law against taking money for unregistered or unapproved projects.
The Reno Pro Soccer project fits the familiar template: generate excitement, secure public sympathy, then seek taxpayer assistance once the momentum is politically irreversible.
A Possible Request for Tax Rebates
While Damonte told KRNV that the stadium is “100 percent privately funded,” she also acknowledged plans to seek public-private partnerships through Tax-Increment Financing (TIF)—a subsidy tool available under Redevelopment Area #2, where the property sits. That means taxpayers could ultimately help finance the very project now being marketed as “privately funded.” Behind the scenes, developer Todd Davis quietly bought the two Kietzke parcels for roughly $35 million through his NYTDAW North and South LLCs, months before the entitlement process began—an aggressive move suggesting that approval is assumed rather than earned.
The Public Reaction
Public reaction to Wendy Damonte’s proposed Reno Pro Soccer stadium has been overwhelmingly skeptical, with residents expressing frustration over potential public financing, zoning abuses, and misplaced priorities. “No public financing—it is just wrong. If you can’t pay for it, don’t build it,” said mayoral candidate Eddie Lorton, echoing widespread anger toward tax-increment financing. Others questioned the city’s direction entirely, with Steven Burlingham Sr. lamenting that “Reno is becoming slums,” and Matt Adamo calling the idea of taxpayer-funded sports ventures “insane... Why should I or my neighbors pay for someone’s business asset?” Critics like Kurt Neathammer and Birgitta Koehler accused Damonte of arrogance and self-interest—“She’s making money off the project… She couldn't care less about this community,” wrote Koehler—while Scott McGuire called the deal “a huge grift game… make us pay for it while they get rich.”
Conclusion
Reno Pro Soccer’s story isn’t about kicking goals; it’s about testing the boundaries between marketing and law. A $35 million land gamble, an absent permit, and a state-level complaint now threaten to derail the carefully staged rollout.
For Reno residents, the question is familiar: Are we watching the birth of a new sports legacy—or another case where public relations masks private overreach?