Preparations resume for Mapes implosion

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2000 | 10:56 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RENO -- A stay that blocked plans to implode the old Mapes Hotel in Reno on Super Bowl Sunday has been erased by the Nevada Supreme Court. Demolition preparations resumed within a few hours.

The high court on Wednesday rejected claims by preservationists that Reno officials violated Nevada's open meeting law in discussing the Mapes' future.

Justices said they recognized the hotel's historic character, but added the preservationists "have not demonstrated a likelihood of success on appeal."

While the court's decision erases one stay, lawyers for the Truckee Meadows Heritage Trust filed a second lawsuit that alleges the city of Reno failed to follow state law governing bids for the demolition project.

Built on the banks of the Truckee River in 1947, the art deco Mapes building was the first in the nation constructed specifically to house a hotel, casino, restaurant and live entertainment under one roof.

The Mapes has been vacant since 1982. Since then, three plans to refurbish the building have fallen through. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

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