Downtown Is Dying

Quote

---

Originally posted by: thegreek<br />Well Oscar put a lot of LV money, time, and effort into the Downtown.

---

Quote

---

Originally posted by: drmilled
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Value can be measured in many ways. Downtown Vegas is like an old pair of shoes. Maybe not the greatest looking but comfortable and a good fit. You can have the strip. Once you get past the flash, most of the strip venues offer the same product- this fee and that fee, ever changing pricing guidelines, rip off resort fees, overpriced food, poor service, pathetic comps. To me, downtown has it all over the strip.

---

Quote

---

Originally posted by: prefect
Downtown is dying? I disagree, at least as it pertains to the casino district.

Well, perhaps you're correct in one sense. The old downtown area, with its vagrants, bums, seedy areas, etc, is dying and going away. Tony Hsieh, regardless of my view on his business view, is reinvigorating the downtown scene. Mark my words....he'll be a major owner of downtown in the next few years. A lot of the businesses that have been around for a while will be gone in a little bit, replaced by hopping bars and entertainment areas. It really took a billionaire to make the massive changes that are needed.

The casinos are reinvesting in their businesses....something that had been lacking in a while. The plastic that you saw covering the tables at LVC? That's due to new construction in the casino. Granted, Tamares Group hasn't been one in the past to really reinvest in their casinos (other than the new stuff in the Plaza), but it's an improvement. There's other possible new projects on the table that I cannot discuss at this point, but they're major reinvestments on FSE.

The new zipline (Slotzilla) will be a major draw to downtown when it's completed in June. It'll blow away the current zipline.

There's new restaurants on Fremont East in just the last few months - a new pizza place,with a full bar and patio in the back, the Commonwealth, The Park, La Comida, the new music venues across from the Cortez (can't remember the names), and the list keeps expanding.

I've seen this rejuvination happen before....when I was quite a bit younger, I saw downtown Denver transform from a seedy warehouse district to an extremely expensive yuppie hangout area and pricey condos. Better? Yes, from what is was before.

I currently work downtown, and when the weather is nice, I walk around there for a bit of exercise. 3-4 years ago, I wouldn't have walked where I do now...now, I walk to 8th or 9th street from Fremont, and down to Charleston and back along anywhere to Main. The old buildings have mostly either been demolished or fenced off...the former "Ice House" on Main has been redone as office buildings, and I see women out walking their dogs by the condo areas. The bums are gone...the area is vacant and waiting for redevelopment. Seriously, it's like watching a real-life game of "Sim-City" playing out.

So, to make a long story short, downtown is not "dying"....it's experiencing a rebirth in my opinion. Give it a couple years, and it'll be a whole new experience.

---