As a shameless admirer of the spectacle that is the Strip, I have to admit that I hate the banner that’s been hoisted over Las Vegas Boulevard as you cross Sahara Avenue heading Downtown. It looks cheap and temporary, and while plenty of things on the Strip possess those qualities, most have the sense to mask them as best they can. “Keep The Party Going!” it screams at you, as if Vegas needs help in that department. Dear Banner: The Strip is momentum. It doesn’t need encouragement. You can’t stop it, you can only hope to contain it.
The purpose of the banner, erected by the City of Las Vegas this spring just before the Rock in Rio music festival took over at the southwest corner of that intersection, is to remind tourists and others traversing the Strip to check out Downtown, too. There are lots of interesting developments happening at the heart of the city, none of which are advertised on this banner.
To be fair, the city did promote the annual Helldorado Days rodeo and festival with a special banner in May. And the thing is temporary; there are plans to build a permanent gateway structure, perhaps inspired by famous landmark arches of St. Louis and Reno. But that project won’t begin until the city’s Main Street renovation is finished, which should start at the end of the year.
Still, it’s a good thing there are plans to create a respectable structure emblematic of the connection between the Strip and Downtown. “It gives the message that something more is happening, that you think you’re at the end of it and then you find that there’s more to see and explore,” says Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The LVCVA has been doing more to promote Downtown tourism in recent years because there’s so much going on. When Vegas commercials are filmed, scenes from the Neon Museum or Downtown Container Park might make the cut. The LVCVA teamed with Saveur to create fun social media videos exploring hot local restaurants, many of which are strung along Carson Avenue.
The Fremont Street Experience is still the main reason tourists trek to Downtown. The arrival of cultural cornerstones like the Smith Center and the Mob Museum obviously lengthened the must-see list, but Downtown’s small business development—bars and restaurants and shops—has added some unique flavor to the story, which has become more fun and easy to tell, Tull says.
“Millennials are all about authenticity, being able to find things off the beaten path. There is authenticity Downtown that appeals to that group of travelers, but it also works well for Baby Boomers, who will go Downtown because they like to remember the Vegas of old. They’ve been coming to Las Vegas for years and they remember the last time they stayed at the Golden Nugget. Authenticity pulls both groups.”
I could poke more fun at the banner by noting that those Millennials won’t want to be told where to keep their party going. They’ll want to find it themselves. But the truth is, they’re just like any brand of Vegas visitor in that they already know what they want to see and do when they come to town. And when they do, they’ll probably discover a new bar or club or restaurant they want to check out, on this trip or the next, because that’s how Vegas works. So maybe a giant, unmissable banner isn’t such a bad idea after all, but I’m still looking forward to its permanent version.
