As We See It

The case for amusement parks in Las Vegas

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The proposed Mars World is reportedly in funding stages and could bring a new level of attraction to town.

The spoils are relative for those in search of theme-parky experiences in Southern Nevada. Besides Circus Circus’ Adventuredome on the Strip and suburban water parks like Wet ‘N’ Wild and Cowabunga Bay, thrill seekers can curate à la carte experiences ranging from the Stratosphere’s quartet of tower terrors to the rambunctious roller coasters at New York-New York and Buffalo Bill’s in Primm. And yet, compared to other attraction-rich tourism capitals in the U.S.—Orlando, Southern California; Pigeon Forge, Tennessee—we still don’t have a single destination park that could reliably draw tourists on its own.

That could change with the proposed Mars World, for which renderings and loose plans were revealed by space.com in late March. The indoor, colony-like facility is reportedly in funding stages. Executive VP John Spencer is also chief designer, and he brings his perspective as a space tourism/space-themed attraction guru (he assisted in designing Star Trek: The Experience, a Tomorrowland for Trekkies back when the Westgate was the Las Vegas Hilton). If the project secures the Strip-adjacent acreage and $2 billion needed to become a reality, guests could be simulating Mars walks in diminished gravity and staying in a property hotel by 2021.

But given Las Vegas’ spotty past with theme parks, its success is hardly surefire. Lance Hart, editor and owner of website Screamscape, which reports, analyzes and compiles international amusement-park and tourist-attraction news, seems skeptical of the project’s completion, let alone its execution should it see a grand opening. If he’s bullish on anything, it’s Las Vegas as a prospective site for a theme park.

“I’ve read the reports about how guests are spending less on gambling but willing to spend so much more on entertainment, retail and dining than ever before,” Hart says. “Anyone who knows theme parks knows that the true money made isn’t from guests buying admission tickets, but how much they are willing to spend on those same big three items: entertainment, retail and dining. With that in mind, I think the Vegas demographic has changed to the point where more theme park-style attractions could be a good fit.”

Hart sees a particular amusement-park brand having potential in Las Vegas: Ferrari World. The Italian carmaker, with the help of partnering investors, has been expanding the brand beyond sport cars, and its first amusement park endeavor—a largely indoor facility in Abu Dhabi—is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Middle East. A second is slated to open within a year at PortAventura near Barcelona; a third will end up in China; and earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that the company wants a North America version. Hart hasn’t heard that Las Vegas is being considered as a host city, but he believes it should be, mostly because the original Ferrari World, while offering some family attractions, is geared toward adults—much like casinos on the Strip (and, potentially, Mars World, for that matter). “In my opinion,” he says, “it would see far more success in Vegas than I think it would in Orlando or Southern California.”

A bonus: A Ferrari World would complement the new, 100-acre SpeedVegas motorsports complex, as well as several pole-position options available at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, making Vegas a Mecca for racing experiences.

But, much like the walk out of Disneyland after a long day, idealism and fantasy must give way to reality sooner or later. Arthur Levine, who runs the About.com theme park page and writes about travel and amusement parks for USA Today, thinks history makes a major new themed/amusement attraction in Las Vegas unlikely.

“The failed MGM Grand Adventures Theme Park, the closing of places such as the Luxor attractions, the (wonderful!) Star Trek attraction, and Caesars’ Magical Empire, and the failure of a number of proposed projects to launch would, I think, give potential developers and investors pause. On many levels, theme parks in Vegas would seem to make great sense. And I personally would enthusiastically welcome them. But I don’t think they’re going to happen.”

Even if a significant theme park never materializes, similar experiences and other adventurism may still be on the horizon.

With a planned indoor water park at the forthcoming Resorts World, Wynn’s lagoon-based Paradise Park (which will feature water skiing, parasailing, paddle boarding and nightly fireworks) and the Vegas Extreme Park to be built across from Town Square, perhaps Southern Nevada is already on its way to turning weekend warriors into weeklong warriors.

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