Alex Meruelo paid 42 million cash in 2011 for Grand Sierra Resort (GSR). it was a bank owned foreclosure.

Just six years earlier, the property went for $151 million. But it was an even better deal than is apparent, Meruelo pointing out that the previous owners put in $100 million in improvements.

“So it was worth more like $250 million,” he said. “I stole it. It was a good deal.”

2011 was a good time to buy any real estate in Nevada. It was three years after the real estate crash of 2008. In round numbers I was the buyer agent on 30 transactions that year and 20 of them were bank owned foreclosures.

The actual rock bottom for Reno area residential prices was February 2012 with a a median price of $150,000!

The Grand Sierra Resort in Reno announced plans to build a $1 billion entertainment district which includes a new arena for the Nevada men's basketball team.

The new entertainment district would be a private capital investment project and wouldn't require any public money.

The project, which will include a 10,000-seat arena, will be built into the existing 140-acre property. The new arena will span approximately 300,000 square feet and offer contemporary amenities, including suites and premium hospitality clubs.

Alex Meruelo started out in his father's tuxedo business. He opened his first pizza restaurant which would become part of the chain La Pizza Loca Southern California in 1985. He actually took over a failed pizza place and within five years had grown to 25 locations and $10 million in annual revenue.

In his early 20s, he ventured into tough neighborhoods to open pizzerias. Later, he dove into real estate, stocks, banking, construction, TV and gaming. Along the way, he became a billionaire.

Alex Meruelo has gone about his business in relative anonymity, raising his family in a $9.5-million home in Newport Coast, the same ritzy neighborhood where many celebrities and sports stars live.

GSR owner Meruelo, who also owns Sahara at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars repositioning and upgrading Grand Sierra Resort.

Meruelo’s latest investment in GSR is expected to tally approximately $1 billion — the largest private capital investment ever in the City of Reno.

In addition to UNR Basketball at the new venue, the Grand Sierra Resort will go after some big-name recording artists to perform in the new arena.

Christopher Abraham, vice president of marketing, sales and entertainment for the Grand Sierra Resort, said that they aren't ruling out recruiting some of the biggest performers to perform in the 10,000-seat arena.

He said they will absolutely go after Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, artists who routinely out football stadiums. During winter months, Abraham said, artists can't perform in an outside football stadium, and that caliber of performers may want to do a more intimate venue in a high-quality arena. 

“It’s the next chapter in Wolf Pack basketball history for this university,” UNR president Brian Sandoval said. “It’s time for us to play in an environment that will be as good or better than anywhere in the country, and it will be a chance for our fans to have an experience that’s unlike anything else. Now there is an opportunity to elevate our program and our university and put us on a stage that gives us equality to any basketball program in America.”

The venue also will host events such as boxing and mixed martial arts, as well as A-list music performers.

Noted Los Angeles-based architectural firm Gensler is the main architect for the stadium project. Gensler has designed several popular sports stadiums, including a collaboration on Chase Center in San Francisco (new home of the Golden State Warriors) and Moody Center on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.