The Las Vegas City Council yesterday unanimously approved measures to let developer REI Group continue trying to acquire the land needed for a 22,000-seat arena, plus hotel, condominiums, casino and retail space.

"This is a very quiet group. They're not anxious to broadcast who they are on television," Jon Weaver, an REI Group principal, said following the vote. He said he would privately identify project backers for Mayor Oscar Goodman.

City staff members said billionaires also were behind some of the six other companies that have shown interest in building a downtown arena.

Goodman, who has been trying for years to lure a professional sports franchise to Las Vegas, said yesterday's council action gave REI Group no advantage as the city gets ready next month to pick a preferred developer for a downtown arena.

Several people voiced concerns about traffic that would result from the massive project on a wedge-shaped plot along Main Street just north of the Stratosphere hotel-casino.

Others worried about cutting into a burgeoning arts district, which could lose several blocks under the REI Group plan.

A consultant is expected to recommend an arena developer to the City Council by July 18. He has said it could take up to a year to design and up to two years to build an arena capable of hosting a National Hockey League or National Basketball Association team.

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