Project to open without bowling center

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, April 2, 2002 | 9:02 a.m.

Moviegoers checking out the grand opening of Neonopolis in exactly 30 days could catch the big "Spider-man" flick or "Star Wars: Episode II" in downtown Las Vegas.

For now, project officials aren't announcing which movie will premiere in the 14-screen movie theater, but the choice could come down to watching Peter Parker being bitten by a genetically engineered spider, or a movie written by George Lucas. Both are set to open in early May.

Neonopolis will open May 2, but with all its fanfare, it will open without its second anchor tenant. Jillian's, a Louisville, Ky.-based company, which will offer a restaurant, bowling lanes, billiards tables and a dance club, will not open until the end of August.

Chardell Steves, leasing agent for Neonopolis, said without Jillian's, the 240,000-square-foot project will be 70 percent occupied when it opens May 2. Neonopolis will have staggered openings throughout the summer, she said.

Although the project won't be entirely ready for spenders, Steves doesn't consider that a setback. Several of the tenants experienced delays after Sept. 11, she said. Project officials had considered waiting to open until the fall, but Steves said the downtown boost was needed sooner.

"It's going to be great because I think this is a reason for people to come downtown," she said. "All summer there will be more and more openings. This is really a much better time for Las Vegas and for the market."

Builders are putting the final touches on the $99 million project, including the neon "Neonopolis" sign on Fourth and Fremont streets, and neon lights running around the outside.

While "Spider-man" and "Star Wars: Episode II" might welcome tourists to Neonopolis, the project was supposed to open in November 2000, when Disney's "102 Dalmatians" was released.

Construction on the project was delayed when the project's main tenant, Mann Theatres, pulled out after its parent company filed for bankruptcy. Despite the setbacks, a new anchor tenant was announced in May 2001. Connecticut-based Crown Theatres will premier the "mystery" movie on 14 screens in May.

Last month, the city made one of its final payments on the project, $1 million toward shared costs for construction. The final payment capped the city's $40 million investment in the project. The city was reimbursed $8.5 million for the land rights.

Councilman Lawrence Weekly, who represents the area, said the project will provide a much-needed boost to downtown.

But because the project has been criticized for its delays, Weekly said he would rather have had the project open later, so all the tenants would be open.

"I would like to see the whole thing open," Weekly said. "I would not have even had a problem (delaying) the grand opening until everything was available.

"I say that only because they've gotten some really unfair shots at them and they've really been working their butts off. I just don't want to see them have a grand opening and not get all the hoopla that they deserve."