Neonopolis garage fees to be delayed

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2002 | 9:31 a.m.

To encourage people to frequent the retail and entertainment businesses at Neonopolis during the holidays, the Las Vegas City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to postponecharging parking fees at its 600-space underground parking garage until Jan. 22.

The council also voted to approve a parking validation program that would give moviegoers at Neonopolis up to three hours of parking in the city's garage on the southeast corner of Ogden Avenue and Fourth Street. That also would begin Jan. 22.

To start recouping the $15 million of taxpayer money that was spent to build the garage, the city had planned to begin on Friday charging $1.50 an hour to park there.

Councilman Lawrence Weekly, as part of his motion to approve the plan, required it not kick in until January. He said business operators at Neonopolis had approached him with concerns of starting paid parking just before the busiest shopping period of the year.

"They asked if we could hold off until after the first of the year," Weekly said, noting it would not hurt the city to wait two months. Weekly was concerned that paid parking could be a significant burden for businesses at the $99 million redevelopment project, which opened in May at Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard.

Councilman Michael Mack and Mayor Oscar Goodman also were concerned about harm to local businesses and suggested they, too, could eventually join the validation plan.

Under the proposed validation program, those who buy tickets at the 14-screen Neonopolis theater complex, operated by Connecticut-based Crown Theaters, would get their parking receipt stamped to park for free. The city would absorb the validation reimbursement costs for the first year, and the theaters would absorb the cost after that, city officials said.

The city has invested $40.5 million in Neonopolis, which is considered the core project for future redevelopment of the downtown area.