Posted on: April 29, 2024, 10:50h.
Last updated on: April 29, 2024, 11:20h.
The Las Vegas Strip site of the failed All Net Arena project just may become a resort and basketball arena after all.
LVXP, a new consortium of Las Vegas real estate developers that obtained the 27 vacant acres at 2601 S. Las Vegas Blvd. in January, announced its intentions for the site on Monday. They include a multibillion-dollar, 2,500-room luxury resort anchored by LVXP’s own retail and restaurant plaza and 20K-seat, NBA-ready arena.
We are honored to be stewards of this significant milestone in the city’s legacy,” said James R. Frasure Jr., CEO of LVXP, in a company press release. “Our commitment is to create a destination that captures the essence of Las Vegas and provides lasting benefits for the community.”
One thing LVXP promises, which All Net didn’t, is a casino at its resort. Its designer will be Steelman Partners, known for the Circa in downtown Las Vegas and Crocksfords Las Vegas at Resorts World.
Details Lacking
Among the noticeably lacking details are the project’s development and building costs, the identity of the hotelier who would operate its resort, the price LVXP paid for the site, and even the project’s name.
In addition, no renderings of the proposed project were released, which is unusual for an announcement of this magnitude.
LVXP’s ambitions are lofty in more than one sense. The resort could end up being the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River. That’s because, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, LVXP hopes to reinstate Federal Aviation Administration approvals granted in 2008 that allow construction on the site up to just below 1,200 feet.
Currently, the adjacent Fontainebleau is the tallest Strip resort at 735 feet, while even the Stratosphere — the current tallest structure west of the Mississippi — only reaches 1,149 street.
Background Check
Frasure, who formed LVXP in February 2023, has a LinkedIn page that lists his only previous experience as managing director of his own Cloudbreak Holdings company, which doesn’t list dates.
LXVP’s second of three listed principals is Chief of Staff Christine Richards, who joined the company three months ago. According to her LinkedIn, she spent the past 15 years managing and directing wine companies, and three years as a financial rep for COUNTRY Financial.
Chief Construction Officer Nick Tomasino, who also joined LVXP three months ago, is the only principal with solid resort development experience. He spent five years as the senior VP of construction for Sphere Entertainment, a year and a half as director of design and construction for the Howard Hughes Corporation, and three years as senior project manager for MGM Resorts International, among other prominent roles, according to his LinkedIn page.
“This is a well-conceived project that has the potential to transform a valuable undeveloped land parcel into a highly productive destination that contributes meaningful long-term value to the community and visitors alike,” Segerblom is quoted as saying in the LVXP press release.
False Hoops
The site of the former Wet ’n Wild waterpark has been plagued by false hopes since the park closed in 2004.
At first, Paul Lowden’s Archon Corporation announced plans to build a resort there called Palace of the Sea. Instead, Lowden sold the property to developer Christopher Milam in 2006 for $450 million. Milam envisioned a $5 billion skyscraper resort called Crown Vegas with backing from Publishing and Broadcasting Limited.
In 2008, that project was canceled. Two years later, Milam announced plans for the $750 million Silver State Arena, a project scuttled by Clark County’s rejection of a proposal to fund 15% of the venue with public money.
In 2013, businessman Jackie Robinson, a former UNLV student and NBA player, announced plans to use the site to build the $1.4 billion All Net Resort and Arena. But Robinson never obtained funding despite announcing to the media several “done deals” over the past decade — first with Credit Suisse, then the Bank of Qatar, then the Clearwater Perpetual Master Trust.
