Hope for the future: Neonopolis opens with few tenants

Jace Radke

Monday, May 6, 2002 | 9:21 a.m.

Most of this weekend's visitors to the still largely empty Neonopolis were optimistic about what the downtown mall could become.

Some even sounded as though they had been coached by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman as they talked about the future of the 200,000-square-foot entertainment facility at the corner of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard.

"I think that it could be really great," Las Vegas resident Cindy Jones said Sunday afternoon as she strolled by the second-floor food court. "We need to fill it up with some more stores and restaurants, but I'm willing to give it some time and see what happens.

"I'm really rooting for it to work because downtown needs it."

Those visiting the mall seemed to be able to look past the lines of empty storefronts and the visible insulation and duct work to a place they may want to visit again.

"We'll definitely come back and check it out next time we're in town," said Sherri Roppo, who was visiting from Chicago. "It's a little like Navy Pier in Chicago, with the outdoor shopping areas, and there are some neat things to look at, like the neon signs.

"It looks like they opened it a little too soon, but it has potential."

Visitors over the weekend found only a smattering of stores open in the $99 million complex. A few vending carts, selling everything from perfume to fake tattoos, made up the majority of the shopping options on the first floor. On the second floor Just Sports, a store selling baseball caps and clothing, and a food court featuring four fast food eateries were the only businesses open.

The Crown 14 Theaters and an art gallery were the only businesses on the third floor. The theater was the major draw for most visitors Sunday.

Bob Bellis, head of a neighborhood association in the John S. Park Elementary School area south of downtown, dropped by the mall Sunday to see "Spider-Man" and was impressed with what the facility had to offer.

"I think that it's great," Bellis said. "People may get a little discouraged about what isn't here yet, but having a movie theater here for downtown residents is wonderful."

Bellis enjoyed one of the shortest lines in the city to see the blockbuster "Spider-Man" because traffic at the mall was light on Sunday.

Security guards didn't need radios to communicate with each other on different levels of the complex because the lack of crowds allowed them to easily hear each other using only their voices.

Las Vegas resident Jason Schubert was disappointed.

"I was expecting a lot more with all the hype, and when you get down here it's dead," Schubert said. "I thought it was weird that there were no windows to the outside, but maybe they did that so no one would see that there is nothing in here."