Angry residents oppose thrill ride

Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001 | 9:48 a.m.

Representatives of the Stratosphere, who organized a neighborhood meeting hoping to drum up support for a proposed thrill ride at the hotel, instead faced a group of angry residents who brought a much different agenda.

The 90-minute meeting Tuesday began with an argument involving casino executives and residents who accused the company of asking its employees to attend the meeting to support the ride.

The proposed ride would carry passengers in an enclosed car 700 feet above Las Vegas Boulevard South before letting them drop face-down at 122 miles per hour. The car would cross the Strip and climb a 416-foot steel-truss structure on the opposite site of the boulevard before stopping.

The meeting ended on a similarly raucous note, as neighbors and Las Vegas Councilman Gary Reese promised the project's death when the issue comes before the City Council Nov. 7.

Despite the opposition, Richard Brown, the Stratosphere's chief operating officer, said the meeting was somewhat successful, because the voices of the company's employees, whom he said support the thrill ride, were heard.

Brown said he originally discouraged employees from coming out to support the project. He later encouraged them to send letters and e-mails to the City Council in support of the plan.

About 25 Stratosphere employees attended the meeting, although only three spoke. They pledged their support for the company, but not the proposed thrill ride.

The employees' statements were lost in a flurry of accusations by residents, who accused the company of ignoring their pleas and refusing to offer a compromise.

Brown said he addressed residents' concerns regarding traffic and noise issues. He said area residents had no basis for opposing the project.

He said he needed to hear specific concerns -- not just a "we don't want it here" mentality -- to present to executives and council members. He also questioned why Reese -- who is supporting residents who oppose the project -- was allowing a select group of residents and neighborhood associations to drive the opposition.

"Six hundred and six employees of the Stratosphere live in Reese's district ... Why don't their voices count?" he asked.

Residents questioned statements -- reported in the Sun -- made by Brown, who said if the ride was not approved the company would not support plans for a downtown monorail, which is slated to stop at the Stratosphere.

"Are you really planning to blackmail the City Council with the monorail?" resident JoNell Thomas asked. "Will you hold the monorail hostage to get your way?"

Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, who represents the area in which the Stratosphere is located, blasted the company for making threats and for pitting hotel workers against residents.

She said the Stratosphere has done little to help the nearby Meadows Village area, and hotel officials called the meeting only because they realized residents had the support needed to kill the project.

"It's disingenuous for them to pit working men and women against residents who are also working men and women," she said.