New hotel casino projects along the Las Vegas Strip continue to proliferate following the slowdown during the covid pandemic. Locals and visitors have gotten used to seeing cranes and construction equipment in the area, and they can expect to see a lot more in the coming months.
In recent years, the 4.2 miles of the Strip had been dominated by properties operated by Caesars Entertainment (CZR) and MGM Resorts International (MGM), mostly in the central and southern parts of Las Vegas Boulevard. But currently several projects are underway by operators other than the two dominant hotel-casino players.
Dream Hotel Group broke ground in July on a new boutique hotel/casino on Las Vegas Boulevard near the private aviation terminal at McCarran International Airport about two blocks from Allegiant Stadium and relatively close to T-Mobile Arena. The 531-room hotel, which will include a 20,000 square-foot casino, should cost around $550 million and open in 2024.
MSG Sphere Las Vegas
Long-Awaited Fontainebleau Opening
The massive Fontainebleau project, which started nearly 20 years ago, went through bankruptcy and multiple owners before returning to the hands of the original owners, who now have the property on track for a late-2023 opening.
Fontainebleau Development has said the project will include a 173,000-square-foot casino, about 3,700 rooms, dining experiences and 90,000 square feet of unique luxury retail shops, consisting of 35 luxury retail concepts on two levels, located inside the resort casino. Fontainebleau has billed itself as the first luxury hotel to be built in Las Vegas in 15 years.
Oak View Group has a $3 billion project planned for a 25-acre site it recently purchased near the intersection of two major freeways, I-15 and I-215. The project, now named the OVG Las Vegas Hotel & Casino will include 850,000 square foot arena, a casino, a hotel, and an additional entertainment venue amphitheater. The project will have 2,000 hotel rooms, and the arena will have 20,000 seats, although that could be adjusted slightly during the planning phase. OVG indicated it is building the arena for an NBA team, but that the NBA has not committed to expanding in Las Vegas.
Billionaire NBA owner Tillman Fertitta, who owns the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street, filed plans to build a 43-story resort casino on the property at Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue after he bought a parcel of land on the Las Vegas Strip earlier this year. The site currently hosts a recently-closed motel and some shuttered souvenir shops.
Fertitta also obtained demolition permits for the buildings that currently sit on the lot, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported
The MSG Sphere at The Venetian, a major arena project located at the corner of Sands Avenue and South Koval Lane across from The Venetian on the Strip, is currently under construction. MSG Entertainment, the arena's developer, has not yet set a date for the opening, but it has said that it plans to have the arena open in time to participate in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship to be held in Las Vegas in November 2023.
U2 is planning a residency at MSG Sphere that will be spread out over several months and performed on non-consecutive days, Billboard reported.`
MSG Sphere is described as the next generation of live entertainment, offering the audience a multi-sensory experience of sound and light inside the largest spherical structure ever created, according to MSG Entertainment. The arena can hold 20,000 standing spectators, 17,500 seated guests and has 23 VIP suites.
Owner MSG in May said it was set to "top off" the project, which to that point had cost the company $1.3 billion, according to the company's most recent earnings call.
Former Riviera Site to Be Sold
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is getting close to finalizing a deal to sell 10 acres on the southeast corner of Las Vegas and Elvis Presley boulevards, the former site of the Riviera, to Chilean real estate investor Claudio Fischer for $120 million, the Review-Journal reported.
The transaction for the site, located next to the Fontainebleau and across the street from Resorts World, is expected to close by Nov. 30, according to LVCVA Chief Executive Steve Hill, but Fischer has until Dec. 15 to close the deal.
Fischer reportedly will not reveal his plans for the site until the deal closes. Under the deal, Fischer has until Jan. 1, 2031 to begin construction, after which the LVCVA would have an option to buy back the land.
Proceeds from the sale to Fischer would go toward a two-year, $600 million renovation project for the Las Vegas Convention Center's North, Central and South halls that is expected to begin in March.
