Can downtown’s future be bright, even as Fremont St. stages go dark?

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Sept. 7, 1999 | 11:53 a.m.

Revenue Drops

Source: Nevada Gaming Control Board

Even as revitalization efforts downtown are gaining momentum, Fremont Street casinos are reducing their entertainment offerings, leaving some wondering whether fewer shows could affect redevelopment.

The Golden Nugget's decision to close its cabaret three weeks ago left two Fremont Street shows -- Clint Holmes and the Hot Stuff adult revue -- without venues.

Lady Luck magician Steve Wyrick's agreement to move his illusions to a retractable-roof showroom planned at the Sahara hotel-casino will leave just Kenny Kerr's production show at the Plaza running on Fremont Street. The Sahara has not yet begun construction of Wyrick's future showroom.

The fleeing entertainers come as downtown's future rests on planned non-casino construction and a potential sports arena.

"That does concern me because it's vital to me to have downtown revitalized," Mayor Oscar Goodman said. "It doesn't help revitalization if the entertainment is leaving."

Goodman said he is regularly briefed on downtown issues, but had not been informed about the cabaret's closing and Wyrick's planned departure.

"The report that I got wasn't negative. It was all positive," he said.

Downtown does have plenty of positives to accentuate.

The Neonopolis entertainment retail center and the Race Rock restaurant are both under construction along Fremont Street. It is hoped the new restaurants, movie theaters and shops will give downtown workers at the new Federal Building and the Clark County Regional Justice Center something to do -- and a reason to stay downtown -- after work.

Tourists who have entertainment in mind will have fewer options to wow them out of their spending money, but locals seem to be enjoying downtown's free options.

"We think we're getting a lot more locals down here and we're continuing to produce new light shows to keep things interesting," Fremont Street Experience President Mark Paris said.

The experience, a group of downtown gaming executives united to keep visitors coming to the aging casinos, sponsors special weekend events that have proved increasingly successful.

A recent '80s Night featured free concerts by Men at Work and Howard Jones. Surf Night, chili cook-offs, country and western concerts brought huge crowds, and an upcoming '70s night is expected to do the same.

Paris said he believes the conversion of the Nugget's showroom for more convention space and Wyrick's planned departure affect individual properties more than the overall health of downtown.

"It's nice to have entertainment and more options for people down here," Paris said. "It does impact the whole general area because it's nice to have diversity of entertainment."

Weekend events -- like a planned concert this weekend by disco mavens Rose Royce and Loveshack -- have been drawing 40,000 to 50,000 people.

If the marketing goal is to target locals, the free weekend concerts seem to be working.

However, Fremont Street's main source of visitors is out-of-town tourists, primarily those staying on the Strip, Paris said. If entertainment helps makes resorts "destinations," losing acts could cause downtown casinos to also lose the type of tourist interested in that experience.

"That's really gaming-related stuff, but it doesn't sound like good news," Mike Forche, president of the City Centre Development Corp., said.

That corporation -- the city's private sector redevelopment arm -- is designed to foster revitalization downtown.