When it opened in August, 2003, Ice Meta_Club caught people's attention. Located at the corner of Harmon and Koval, it was the largest free-standing nightclub in Las Vegas and boasted six separate "zones," including the sexy fur-lined pink-lit Fur Room, plus a chic ultra lounge, pole-dancing go go dancers, and a liquid-nitrogen fog machine that would periodically engulf the venue and its occupants in a chilling blanket. Ice offered something different and soon became noted as the place to catch top-tier DJs.
In 2004, won Best New Club in Second Annual Club World Awards and later that year it became the setting for "The Club" behind-the-scenes reality show shot by Spike TV. Ten episodes were shot, apparently, as the club underwent a makeover and a management shake-up, but despite the participation of some big names, including DJs like Paul Oakenfold and Tiesto, the show was pulled in January 2005 after just four episodes had aired.
It wasn't its lackluster television debut that spelled doom for Ice, however; instead, it was the notorious condo craze. In late 2005, locally based Edge Investment Group announced that it had purchased the 21-acre parcel of land that included the spot on which Ice stood, and had entered into a partnership with Starwood Resorts for the planned construction of a $1.7 billion W Hotel, with a 75,000-square-foot casino, 300,000 square feet of convention space, and residential units starting at $550,000, for which a sales office was erected. Construction was set to commence in early 2006.
The neighboring apartment complex was demolished and, despite having a solid lease through 2007, apparently the owner yielded to financial pressure and hosted a big closing party in October 2005. But although Edge purchased an additional 25 acres of adjoining land and nominally sold 75 of the planned condo units, ground was never broken and the whole project quickly fell apart.
We confess to not having watched any episodes of the reality show, but we seem to recall that there was also some staffing problems and possible financial scandal uncovered, leading to significant management changes and some bigger problems for the club. Around the same time, owner Greg Neely apparently was diagnosed with cancer, which appears to have also been a major factor in allowing the club's lease to be curtailed without a fight. (As an aside, in 2008 it was erroneously reported by Las Vegas Weekly, as a result of information supplied by a former dancer at the club, that Neely had passed away, aged in his mid-'60s. Upon learning of his premature obituary, Greg Neely contacted the publication to assure them that he was still alive and currently residing in Ohio.)
There's been the odd rumor in the intervening years that Ice might reopen, but none of them ever amounted to anything and we've heard of no plans for the spot in awhile. So until someone comes up with a new Grand Plan for that location, Ice "remains virtually intact on the hotel’s intended footprint, the empty shell a death mask, a monument to itself," as club guru Jack Colton wrote in a heartfelt 2008 obituary piece for the Weekly.
