Nearly a half-mile from where the former Tropicana hotel towers were demolished last week, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) CEO Steve Hill said he had never been this close to an implosion.
As clouds of dust rose above the Strip or Las Vegas hotel strip, drones transformed the Tropicana trademark into the logos of Bally’s Corp., which managed the resort, and the Oakland A’s, who are planning to build a $1.5 billion baseball stadium on 9 acres of a 35-acre property.
Site plans submitted to Clark County this week show three hotel towers with 3,000 rooms surrounding the A’s baseball stadium.
What type of non-baseball offering will replace the Tropicana is yet to be determined, but Bally’s CEO Soo Kim said the complex will include a hotel and a casino.
The demolition of the Tropicana marked the latest evolution of the Strip, but along with the closure in July The Mirage, that will become the Hard Rock Las Vegasthe disappearance of the Tropicana was added to the elimination of almost 4,500 hotel rooms from the market.
Las Vegas has fewer than 151,000 hotel rooms and suites, a figure that won’t change dramatically for three years until the Hard Rock opens its doors with a renovated Mirage tower and a guitar-shaped hotel. The company has not said how many rooms and suites will be included in the new property.
“Sometimes we have a lot of hotel rooms and sometimes we don’t,” Hill said of Las Vegas, which on an average weekend last year filled 91 percent of its rooms. “There has been a steady growth in the number of rooms in Las Vegas, which I think is healthy for the city.
According to the LVCVA Construction Bulletinsome motel-style projects could add about 500 rooms in 2025. A pair of non-gaming hotels under construction in Symphony Park would add up to nearly 500 rooms, while the M Resort in Henderson is building a 384-room expansion that won’t open until 2026.
Hill said it’s “a challenge” to make a resort that’s competitive in a market where nightly rates continue to rise even as the cost of construction increases.
The inaugurations last December of the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, with 3,700 rooms, and Durango Casino Resortwith 200 rooms, helped make up for some of the capacity lost with the Tropicana and Mirage. However, the prices are much higher. A room at the Fontainebleau this weekend starts at $700 a night. At the Tropicana they cost less than half.
Bally’s CEO Soo Kim said Bally’s is considering the current Las Vegas market with plans for a new property, but is also taking into account the ballpark and its effect on the Strip.
The executive suggested that A’s games and other events at the stadium will attract clients staying at nearby properties.
“Tourists are going to come and walk to the stadium,” Kim said. “It is a wonderful town.”
