When a major Las Vegas Strip property closes, its demise tends to be spectacular.
That's because bringing down one of the massive resort casinos that fill the famous 4.2-mile stretch of road is not easy, to say the least.
With buildings packed close to each other, classic demolition techniques often can't be used. Instead, many Las Vegas Strip resort casinos meet their ends through implosion, a visually striking demolition where the property gets blown inward instead of apart.
Usually, implosion is used when a casino has had a long and successful life and a new owner wants to build something new on the property. One example is the former Hacienda, a 40-year-old property that was imploded to make way for MGM Resorts International's (MGM) -) Mandalay Bay.
"The Hacienda started as a 256-room motor lodge on the outskirts of town and grew to a 1,200-room resort," Vegas.com reported.
"It was among the first properties to offer family-friendly recreation, including a miniature-golf course and a go-kart track. In its later years, the resort succumbed to age and a loss in traffic to the new, gleaming megaresorts popping up further north on the Strip."
Ultimately, for anything new to be added on the Las Vegas Strip, something old has to change. That doesn't always mean implosion or demolition — plans call for a new resort casino to be built on top of the Strip's Fashion Show Mall — but generally that's what happens.
The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Image source: Shutterstock
Tropicana's end is in sight
When Bally's Corp. (BALY) -) bought the Tropicana, its management was vague about its plans for the property. The company's former chief executive, Lee Fenton, commented on Bally's plans for the property during Bally's' second-quarter-earnings call.
"So, for Trop, we've said that we will continue to operate the property. We obviously — I think it's well-advertised that we intend to develop at some point in the future, but we will run the property on an as-is basis at least for the next 12 months until we have identified the plan and the partnerships that we want going forward," Fenton said.
The company did say that at some point the property would take the Bally's name, which had been on the Caesars Entertainment resort casino now known as the Horseshoe.
VISIT LAS VEGAS: Are you ready to plan your dream Las Vegas Strip getaway?
Ultimately, whatever early plans Bally's had were dropped when the company and the owner of the land the Tropicana sits on, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. (GLPI) -), made a deal to give Major League Baseball's Oakland A's nine acres of land on which to build a new stadium.
That land includes the site where the Tropicana sits, portending an end for the Strip's second-oldest casino behind Caesars Flamingo.
Timing for the end of the Tropicana has been kept vague as Bally's likely wants to wring every last dollar out of the resort casino. But a new report brings clarity to when the eventual demolition or implosion will take place.
Here's when the A's stadium will force the Trop to close
Bally's and GLPI making a deal with the Oakland Athletics was only one piece of bringing the Major League Baseball team to Sin City. The league also needed to approve the move, a process that is ongoing, and Nevada needed to pass a funding package to aid with infrastructure.
The funding package, which was never guaranteed, did eventually get approved while MLB's approval is generally considered a formality. Now, Mortenson-McCarthy, the A’s ballpark-construction manager, has outlined a potential timeline with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority.
Construction is slated to begin in April 2025 and be completed in January 2028, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
That means that fans of the Tropicana likely have more than a year to say their goodbyes to the resort.
F1? SUPER BOWL? MARCH MADNESS? Plan a dream Las Vegas getaway.
The 33,000-seat ballpark is expected to cost $1.5 billion.
While their future home is being built, the A's are expected to play the 2024 season in Oakland. After that, the team could play at its minor league park, which is off the Las Vegas Strip, or find another temporary home in the city.
Get investment guidance from trusted portfolio managers without the management fees. Sign up for Action Alerts PLUS now.
