MGM Mirage mulls Las Vegas theme park closure

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) -- MGM Mirage said it may close the Grand Adventures theme park at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip, which would mark another rollback of the city's 1990's effort to become more family-friendly.

"We are talking with others about possible enhancements or other alternative uses," said MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman. "But no decisions have been made, and it is possible that no decisions will be made in the immediate future."

The MGM park closed last Monday for the fall and winter, in keeping with practice over the last few years. Some industry players have speculated it might not reopen in the spring.

The 19-acre (eight-hectare) theme park at the sprawling hotel and casino opened with fanfare in 1993, when boosters said it would help transform Las Vegas into a more family-oriented vacation destination. Since then, however, the $100 million park has been one of the MGM Grand's weakest components and has already been downsized once to make room for a convention hall.

The redevelopment push is the latest move in a bumpy ride for the park, which was reduced from 33 acres (13 hectares) to its present size and had more adult-oriented attractions added in recent years, said Robin Farley, an analyst at PaineWebber.

"I think that the idea of Las Vegas being a family vacation place has been out of fashion for a while," she said.

"There certainly are amenities that appeal to a wide variety of people. But if you look at the types of amenities that have been touted over the last few years, it's more about upscale restaurants, new nightclub concepts and so forth. That's much more what the attention has been focused on."

Indeed, Mandalay Resort Group revamped its pyramid-shaped Luxor years ago, pulling out rides and adding a nightclub. Newer hotels like MGM Mirage's Bellagio, Park Place Entertainment Corp.'s Paris Las Vegas and the recently re-opened Aladdin have targeted more upscale, adult visitors.

Feldman declined to discuss possible alternative plans for the site, but Farley said a retail complex like the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace or a new signature attraction like the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay could be possibilities.

"It's not Strip frontage, but considering it's attached to the largest hotel casino property out there, if they can leverage all the guest traffic they have there," a retail complex could be quite successful, she said.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Weather: Las Vegas
City Profiles: Las Vegas
World Maps and Guides: Nevada
Driving Directions
Currency Converter

Trump may push for Manhattan casino
September 6, 2000
Big-dollar resorts give Las Vegas an upscale look
June 16, 2000

MGM Grand Corporate Homepage

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.