LOOKING IN ON: CITY HALL

Dan Kulin

Monday, July 24, 2006 | 7:18 a.m.

The sale of downtown Las Vegas white elephant Neonopolis is apparently a done deal, with a Delaware-based partnership paying $25 million for the roofless mall and movie theater complex.

When Neonopolis opened in May 2002, it already was the target of criticism over the $32.6 million that the city spent to build an underground parking garage and to buy the land at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street.

Over the past four years, the project has struggled to draw and keep tenants and patrons. Last week, the only remaining businesses in the three-story complex were a gelato store in the otherwise empty food court, Jillian's restaurant and bowling alley and a 14-theater movie complex.

A handful of other businesses, including a Mexican restaurant and gambling museum, closed in recent weeks.

The future of Neonopolis is unclear, but some believe the new owners will try to fill the existing space with new restaurants and shops, while making minor physical changes to the exterior.

Neonopolis' most visible entrance is from Fremont Street; most of the facades along Las Vegas Boulevard, Fourth Street and Ogden Avenue are solid walls without windows or doors. The only entrance on those three sides is an opening to the interior courtyard off Las Vegas Boulevard. Some say the new owners know they will have to improve and increase ways to get into the mall to make it successful.

According to county and state records, Delaware-based FAEC Holdings Wirrula bought Neonopolis from World Entertainment Centers. City officials say they have been dealing with a local contact named Rohit Joshi, whom they say is the new owner's representative.

Joshi would not comment on the purchase, future plans for the property or his role with the new owner. But he said there would be a major announcement within the next several weeks about Neonopolis' future.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, in the past a critic of the Neonopolis project, said: "Rumor is they have very nice tenants coming in."

But the mayor would not elaborate, saying he would leave any announcements to Joshi.

The sale of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics to an Oklahoma City group has many speculating that the team's move to that Midwest city is in the cards.

If that happens, a franchise seen as likely to move - the Sonics have been pushing for a new arena for years - and a city widely considered to be next in line for an NBA team - Oklahoma City played temporary home to the New Orleans Hornets after Hurricane Katrina - will be out of play as far as future franchise moves are concerned.

But would that have any effect on Las Vegas' chances to land a team? City officials don't think so.

Goodman, who has been at the forefront of the effort to lure a top pro team here, called the Seattle-Oklahoma City situation "irrelevant."

"We're No. 1 as soon as we get the gaming issue resolved," Goodman said, referring to the issue that has most divided NBA and local officials.

League officials have said that Las Vegas' legal sports betting is a barrier to the city receiving a major league franchise.

Las Vegas Councilman Larry Brown, a former minor league baseball player who has also been a strong advocate for bringing a pro franchise here, agreed that the city would not be affected by the recent deal.

"If someone wants to come to Vegas they'll find a way," Brown said.

"It'll come down to whether the NBA and its ownership want it here."