Groundbreaking Ceremonies Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up to Be

^{The SkyVue observation wheel was going to anchor a major property across the street from Mandalay Bay. Now, 10 years later, just two abandoned concrete support columns remain. (Image: SkyVueLasVegas.com)}

The Athletics will hold a groundbreaking ceremony next week on Monday, June 23, for what is expected to be a new Major League Baseball stadium in Las Vegas.

If all goes as planned, a new domed stadium will occupy much of the land where the Tropicana once stood, in time for Opening Day of the A’s season in April 2028. Bally’s still hasn’t revealed plans for a hotel and casino that would replace the Tropicana.

In theory, groundbreaking marks the start of construction. In reality, that’s not always the case. The key word for this event is “ceremony.”

Construction on the stadium may or may not begin the moment ceremonial shovels hit the dirt at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue.

Clark County has stipulations in its contract with the A’s if concerns over financing are true. There’s a passage that requires work to begin on the site within six months:

“If no work occurs on the project for 180 days or longer, the project will be determined to be abandoned by the county, and work toward decommissioning the project could proceed thereafter, barring any extensions.”

Don’t be surprised if there are delays, or if the stadium project stalls entirely. That’s not uncommon for construction projects on the Las Vegas Strip.

In fact, you can still see remnants of one such project when looking at the site from some rooms at the MGM Grand.

More Than a Decade of Pillars in the Ground 

Just south of the vacant land for the A’s stadium site, you can see two tall posts and more empty land that are the remnants of a long-abandoned project.

This area was originally earmarked for a mixed-use development anchored by the SkyVue observation wheel, located across the street from Mandalay Bay. The project had a ceremonial groundbreaking in 2011.

SkyVue, a proposed 500-foot-tall observation wheel, was to be the centerpiece of the first phase of a project called London Las Vegas. The 38.5-acre development was planned to include a 1,300-room hotel, casino, retail and dining modeled after British neighborhoods.

Construction halted in 2015, and the land has been sold twice and still remains vacant.

(Image: DLR Group)

‘It Was All a Dream! I Used to Read "Word Up" Magazine’

Dream Las Vegas was announced in 2020 as a flagship property for the boutique hotel brand.

Planned for a site just south of Mandalay Bay, the project called for a 450-room luxury hotel and casino featuring multiple restaurants and a rooftop pool deck. Construction was initially scheduled to begin in early 2021.

Progress was slow from the beginning. A groundbreaking ceremony didn’t take place until mid-2022, and by early 2023, work came to a halt when Dream Las Vegas ran out of funding, shortly after Hyatt acquired the company.

Despite talk of expansion, there are still only five Dream Hotels properties in four cities. The Las Vegas site remains undeveloped.

Just a Little Patience

Not all groundbreaking ceremonies are hit or miss right away. Sometimes it takes a little time for a project to take shape. 

Stardust casino on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip closed in 2006. Boyd Gaming had big plans for the land and broke ground on Echelon Place in 2007.

The massive development was envisioned as a CityCenter-style complex, featuring five hotels, a 140,000-square-foot casino, two theaters for stage shows and concerts, retail space, a large convention center, and more than 30 restaurants, bars and nightlife venues.

Construction barely started before Boyd threw in the towel. The land was sold to Genting Group, who announced Resorts World Las Vegas in 2013. 

Resorts World Las Vegas got off to a slow start. The groundbreaking ceremony didn’t take place until 2015, with an opening initially planned for 2018. 

Progress was slow, and plans evolved before construction finally ramped up in 2019 and 2020.

Resorts World finally opened in 2021. However, this was a far cry from the initial plans for the property that were similar to Echelon Place. The original concept for Resorts World would have included a heavy Asian theme, including a live panda exhibit similar to the MGM lion habitat. 

This was ditched for a more mainstream casino concept with plenty of Asian dining options. 

The Fontainebleau Saga

Fontainebleau finally opened its doors at the end of 2023. It was a long, strange trip to get to that point.

The project was first announced in 2005, with a groundbreaking ceremony held in 2006 and an opening originally slated for 2008.

(Image: courtesy of Fontainebleau)

Construction began in 2007, but the project stalled after reaching about 70% completion. It was so close to finished that many hotel rooms were already furnished.

But the developers ran out of money and were forced to sell. The property was acquired by investor Carl Icahn in 2010 for $148 million.

He sold everything inside to property piece by piece. In 2011, the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas purchased the hotel room furniture for a renovation. He held onto the property for seven years and flipped it for $600 million in 2017.

The property was eventually sold back to the original owners, who finally opened the massive blue casino on the north end of the Vegas Strip. 

But Wait, There’s More!

Not all of the stalled projects that had groundbreaking ceremonies involve casinos. 

(Image: Majestic Las Vegas)

There was a groundbreaking for All-Net Arena on the land next to Fontainebleau a decade ago. That project never got off the ground and the developers gave up on the dream. There are plans for a similar concept by a new company, but there hasn’t been any movement yet. 

Majestic Las Vegas held a groundbreaking ceremony on the site of the former Clarion on Convention Center Drive in 2021, after being delayed a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The website was updated this year with new plans and a groundbreaking for the non-gaming hotel slated for this year with an opening of 2026.