Mayor changing role in downtown redevelopment

Erin Neff

Friday, March 17, 2000 | 12:06 p.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has made downtown redevelopment the make-or-break plank of his administration.

But he will begrudgingly loosen some of the controls he has previously held over revitalization to allow experts in that field to have first crack at proposals.

Previously, Goodman accepted phone calls and held meetings with prospective developers interested in downtown without first consulting the City Centre Development Corp.

During a strategic planning session Wednesday, some City Centre board members said they felt they had not been given enough leeway in dealing with prospective development.

Goodman took those words to heart.

"I'm going to be the closer if they need one on projects now," Goodman said Thursday at his weekly press briefing. "They think I serve a useful role as a closer."

Goodman said he will now forward any calls from prospective developers directly to City Centre -- a private sector board that oversees city redevelopment efforts.

"From now on I'm going to instruct my office to shoot (the calls) all over to CCDC," Goodman said.

As a closer, Goodman will act much like a baseball pitcher who comes in to save a game for the starter by keeping a lead.

If City Centre gets a developer to commit to certain proponents needed for a successful project, Goodman will then come in -- as he puts it "with my charm" -- and seal the deal.

Goodman also said the full council will need to decide whether City Centre needs more city staff, and whether the city's Office of Business Development's budget should supplement the redevelopment board's efforts.

Even before the council makes those decisions, Goodman said he hoped to have news on a replacement tenant for the planned Neonopolis entertainment center.

"There's an air of optimism that we're going to be getting good news," Goodman said, adding that such news could come "within the month."

Robert Gorlow, president of World Entertainment Centers, which is developing Neonopolis, said he is "encouraged and enthusiastic."

Neonopolis, which was originally supposed to open in November, ran into major delays when the parent company of Mann Theatres filed for bankruptcy. Mann had been the anchor tenant of Neonopolis.

Since Mann's departure, WEC and project financier Prudential Insurance Co. have been working to get another anchor movie theater tenant. Once that occurs they hope to be able to sign retail and restaurant leases for the three-story blocklong complex on Fremont Street.