1. How much money did it cost to build and how much is it losing every year?
A: It cost $63 million to build in 2010 — which, with inflation is the equivalent of $92 million in today’s dollars — and that $63 million came from the Bureau of Land Management, with then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid given the credit for securing the land and the money. https://archive.ph/Jmtdc
At 2,900 acres it’s either the largest or one of the largest in the country.
We looked at the revenue and expenses since it was opened and found that the shooting complex has lost $5.7 million since it opened.
It lost money every year except for FY 2017, when it had a $91,000 profit and FY 2019, when it had a $10,000 profit, and FY 2021, with a $92,000 profit.
BUT both 2017 and 2019 the range still got $250,000 transferred from other funds to continue to make up for the losses from previous years.
Infusions from the county have totaled almost $10 million since 2010, including a $3.3 million transfer this fiscal year. The county didn’t answer our questions about why so much money has been allocated to the shooting facility beyond its revenue loss.
2. Why is it losing money? What could the county do differently?
Patrons pay for a pass to the range and can rent rifles, pistols and shotguns, with skeet, trap and clay targets — and bows and arrows at the archery range, groups can reserve times, and users are paying fees for using it but it’s not enough.
It has continued to lose money year after year, making profitability further and further away.
There have been talks that the county should seek a contract with a private company to run the center but they haven’t done that.
Back then in 2013, county commissioners planned to cut hours at the shooting complex and hire someone to market it more to get more business. Clearly whatever changes it made, it didn’t work.
3. The shooting complex is open to the public, but does law enforcement or other groups use it?
A: Besides individuals practicing their aim, there’s groups, like a new youth trapshooting league for middle-schoolers and high-schoolers, some of whom are shooting competitively.
The new range is scheduled to open in two years, and it’s is not being used by the National Guard, other law enforcement agencies will be allowed to use it, like Metro PD, Nevada Department of Public Safety and Department of Corrections.