Posted on: August 26, 2024, 06:19h.
Last updated on: August 26, 2024, 06:19h.
The Tropicana, one of the last vestiges of Las Vegas’ mafia-dominated 1950s Rat Pack era, will be imploded in the wee hours of Wednesday, Oct. 9, according to its current owners — or at least what’s left of the icon’s already-gutted pair of 22-story towers will be.
Until the news was broken today, by several local media outlets simultaneously, it was commonly believed that Bally’s Corp. would keep the date secret so crowds wouldn’t gather to watch what, since the ’80s, has become a rather unfortunate Las Vegas ritual.
Bally’s has a permit to prep for the implosion from Sept. 30 through Oct. 8. It will be directed by Controlled Demolition Inc., the Pheonix, Md.-based company that imploded the Dunes in 1993, the Landmark in 1995, the Sands in 1996, the Aladdin in 1998, the Desert Inn in 2001, the Stardust and Frontier in 2007 and the Riviera in 2015.
Bally’s claims that it had to drop the Trop to make way for a baseball stadium for the relocated Oakland Athletics on 9 of the sites 35 acres — in addition to a new casino resort on the rest. Construction of the stadium alone will take $1.5 billion and three years.
Until the stadium opens, according to the plan, the A’s will spend three years in Sacramento.
However, many Las Vegas insiders, including Anthony Curtis’ Las Vegas Advisor and our own Vital Vegas, wouldn’t bet on either project happening.
Celebrate Sad Times, Come On!
On the night of Oct. 8, Bally’s and the A’s will stage what Bally’s is calling “a commemorative event,” featuring a drone and fireworks show from Fireworks by Grucci. This event, which sounds like a party to us, will conclude with the implosion.
Implosions are always conducted at night in Las Vegas, to minimize traffic disruption and the health impacts of dust and anything that possibly goes wrong.
Clark County still needs to approve the implosion permit, though, and the deadline for that isn’t until a week beforehand. In addition, before construction can begin, supposedly in April, the A’s will need approval from Clark County and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority on three more agreements, covering development, the lease and non-relocation.
A fourth agreement, on community benefits, was already approved.
