The famous Tropicana Las Vegas resort, which held the city’s longest-running cabaret and was known for its lavish midcentury décor, will close on Tuesday as it prepares for demolition to make way for a new Major League Baseball stadium.
The resort’s gaming floor will close at 3 a.m. on Tuesday, and the hotel’s last guests will be required to check out by noon, according to the website for the resort, which is owned by Bally’s Corporation, the gambling, betting and entertainment company.
After the demolition, about nine acres of the 35-acre parcel will be granted to the Athletics baseball team for the construction of a 30,000-seat stadium, the resort said. The stadium is expected to host the team, which is moving to Las Vegas from Oakland, Calif., beginning in 2028.
There was discussion last year that the Tropicana would be redeveloped to make room for an integrated resort, casino and ballpark complex. Specific designs are still being finalized, according to the resort.
The Tropicana has had a storied run on the Las Vegas Strip since it opened in 1957 as the most lavish hotel and casino in the city, with a cascading 60-foot fountain and shimmering pool that piped Muzak underwater.
The longtime magicians Siegfried and Roy debuted there. Sean Connery’s James Bond stayed the night. Feathered showgirls danced in its Folies Bergère cabaret. One photo taken in 1980 captured the dancers playfully carrying the comedian Joan Rivers for an awards show at the hotel.
But it’s been years since the resort’s heyday, and the casino has become a relic as the city has evolved by offering entertainment that could be found in other big metro markets: major professional sports teams.
Over the years, the N.F.L., the N.H.L., the W.N.B.A. and the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament have all had teams and marquee events move to the city.
Last summer, the governor of Nevada signed a bill agreeing to finance up to $380 million of the estimated $1.5 billion cost of the baseball stadium to lure the Athletics to a site on the Las Vegas Strip.
In November, Major League Baseball approved the relocation of the Athletics to Las Vegas, where the organization is set to open its new ballpark on the Tropicana site, according to the league.
The team will play its 2024 season at the Oakland Coliseum in California and is working with the league to evaluate options for a place to play in the interim after that season.
“We are excited to begin this next chapter in Las Vegas,” John Fisher, the Athletics’s managing partner and owner, said in a statement.
The new ballpark will feature a roof that has five overlapping layers that were inspired by a traditional baseball pennant and views of the city’s skyline, according to the league. Plans for the outfield include a large cable-net glass window facing the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard and an 18,000-square-foot Jumbotron.
The Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents about 350 workers at the Tropicana, said it would help employees find new jobs, apply for unemployment and upgrade their skills.
“The goal is to make sure that the Tropicana workers are taken care of,” Ted Pappageorge, the secretary-treasurer of the union, said in an interview.
He said that union employees will receive a severance of $2,000 for each year of employment and six months of health insurance coverage. He added that he hoped the Tropicana workers would be offered jobs at the stadium complex when it is completed.
On the resort’s Instagram account, longtime visitors expressed bittersweet sentiments about the resort’s closing and reminisced about the “red midcentury inspired décor,” their memories of the casino, the magic shows they enjoyed and the staff they met.
Source link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/us/tropicana-las-vegas-closes.html