We now have another site for a potential new Raiders Vegas stadium, as the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel just off the Strip is pitched as a possible location — and insiders say it’s at the top of the list.
The Wild Wild West Gambling Hall & Hotel, owned by Red Rock Resorts Inc. (formerly Station Casinos), is located on Tropicana Avenue just west of I-15. It’s a big site — over 100 acres — and with good freeway and road access, it’s a leading contender to land the $1.45 billion, 65,000-seat domed football stadium proposed by Las Vegas Sands Inc., Majestic Realty and the Oakland Raiders.
“We are always considering alternatives with respect to the potential use and/or development of our 100 acres of property located adjacent to the Strip, which we believe is one of the premier undeveloped sites in Las Vegas,” Richard Haskins, president of Red Rock Resorts Inc., said in a statement issued late Thursday. “As such, we would welcome a discussion with the appropriate parties regarding the possible sale of a portion of that property for purposes of developing a stadium.”
Proponents of the domed stadium are now on the hunt for a new site for the stadium, as the first choice, a 42-acre location on the other side of Tropicana, at Koval, was largely eliminated from consideration after Southwest Airlines strongly expressed concern about the possible impact to McCarran International Airport operations.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal is reporting that the new site is seen by insiders to be one of two prime locations, along with open land next to the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.
The new Wild Wild West location joins a shortlist of four other locations:
- Open land next to the Thomas & Mack Center. That site was once pitched by Majestic Realty as UNLV Now, which would have included a new UNLV stadium, an entertainment district and student housing.
- The location of the former Riviera Hotel on the Strip, near the Convention Center. The Riviera, a Rat Pack mainstay, was recently torn down to make way for an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The new stadium and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority are vying for the use of tourism taxes to fund their facilities. This may be a way for the pair to join forces and placate opponents of the stadium project, who don’t want to see the Sands benefit from any public spending, or it could be an unresolvable conflict between the LVCC and the Sands.
- The Rock in Rio concert grounds at Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard, which is controlled by MGM Resorts International. The initial 2015 edition of Rock in Rio wasn’t exactly a stunner, and the future of the event is up for debate — as is the future of the site.
- The downtown Cashman Center and Cashman Field. Most conventioneers never see the almost-100,000-square foot Cashman Center, and the Las Vegas 51s have been working for years for a new ballpark to replace Cashman Field. With potentially 55 acres available and plenty of freeway access, the site could work. But there are a few issues. For one, fans will be far off the Strip and away from the hotels that could benefit from having an NFL team in town. Second, the facility would be far away from UNLV. That’s already an issue with Sam Boyd Stadium.
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