The Riviera Hotel & Casino In Las Vegas Could Be Next In Line For Demolition

The Clarion Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas was demolished in last week and it now appears that one of Las Vegas’s oldest casinos could also be demolished. The Riviera Hotel & Casino was constructed in 1955 and since then has been through a number of makeovers to keep up with the times. During the last 60 years the casino has faced a number of challenges and has filed for bankruptcy on a number of occasions.

The Riviera Hotel & Casino last filed for bankruptcy in 2010 and has struggled to post any profits since then. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recently put forward a proposal to purchase the aging casino. The proposal will be reviewed on the 20th of Feb and if it is approved, then the casino will be demolished and a new convention center will be constructed on the same spot. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has put forwarded a proposal to buy the Riviera for $191 million.

The principals and affiliates of Starwood Capital Group own the Riviera hotel and casino and will have to decide on the proposal which offers $182.5 million for Riviera’s 2075 rooms that are spread across 26 acres. The remaining $8.5 million will be used for related costs. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have the responsibility to develop and promote Las Vegas and believe that purchase of this renowned property and the construction of a modern convention center will greatly benefit Las Vegas.

The convention center will be used to attract business conferences and encourage large corporations to hold their meetings in Vegas as the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have plans of marketing the new location as part of the Las Vegas Global Business District. As of now the Las Vegas Convention Center has only 2.18 million square feet which is less than Chicago’s McCormick Place who also has plans to expand and increase its convention space.

The CEO of MGM Resorts Jim Murren recently said

The planned expansion would help Las Vegas fend off competitors and bring more business for every casino-hotel. To have a Strip presence for the first time is also really important. That convention-goer gets that sense of arrival. As it is now, the convention center sits a long block behind the Strip. It would be a vast improvement over what we have today.