Cirque - dream tenant for downtown

Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.

A Las Vegas businessman and a city official flew to Montreal last week to pitch Cirque du Soleil on moving its local offices into the Arts District.

The international performing group would help boost visibility for the struggling area and add cachet to the downtown arts scene.

With five shows in Las Vegas and two more on the way, Cirque talks openly about being part of the Las Vegas community. The company has been eyeing the Arts District for some time, hoping to move its local offices from a corporate building near McCarran International Airport to the downtown area. The company has 70 employees in its local offices and expects to have 100 by 2009. At any given time there are 20 to 30 people from Montreal visiting. The company needs at least 35,000 square feet.

Rehearsal and gallery spaces would also be needed for workshops and to house employee artwork and a heritage collection. A gift shop is also being discussed.

Wes Myles, owner of the Arts Factory, called Cirque officials. He and his partners are buying three buildings that cover the entire block behind the Arts Factory. The buildings include the old Mission Linen facility at Coolidge Avenue and First Street. It has 25,000 square feet of floor space but that could be expanded to 34,000 square feet with a mezzanine. Myles and partners also are buying the neighboring Ray and Rick Automotive and Lady Luck Laundry.

Karen Gay, Cirque's director of global citizenship for resident shows, said the local Cirque staff was impressed with the proposal and invited Myles to Montreal, along with Richann Johnson of the city's business development office.

A deal hasn't been made, Gay said. The next step is a needs assessment by officials in Montreal.

"We are very serious about moving into the Arts District," Gay said. "We want to be there."

Cirque's current lease ends in late 2008. An internal Cirque committee was formed this year to look at possibilities. Gay said she predicts Cirque will move into the Arts District in two or three years.

The idea of Cirque moving into the area would be "a dream come true ," Myles said.

"It's an art-sensitive tenant that has endless money. Their reputation in Las Vegas is indisputable. They have a long-standing track record as being socially and financially stable."

Cirque du Soleil is known for being a good neighbor in Montreal and involved in the local arts scene. Its headquarters sits next to one of North America's largest landfills and is part of that area's improvement projects.

One percent of the company's gross revenue goes to social and cultural action programs. The company also has contacted with Myron Martin, president of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation, but Gay said Cirque would like to be part of redevelopment efforts in the Arts District and has been using the business development office as a resource.

Myles said he's not concerned about the proposed arena and casino development kitty-cornered to the Arts Factory that has some questioning the future of the area.

"It's just noise in the background to us ," he said.