Station Casinos concerned with Tropicana/I-15 overhaul, next to development site

Las Vegas gaming giant Station Casinos has raised concerns about a proposed Tropicana Avenue/Interstate 15 revamp, citing the project as a potential transportation issues source for a long-planned resort development the company evaluates for the immediate area.

The revamp has been proposed as a needed improvement to traffic flow in the vicinity of several major Las Vegas event centers, reports Las Vegas Review-Journal. The project, planned on a $305 million budget, is aimed at smoothing traffic funneled to the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, T-Mobile Arena, and Allegiant Stadium.

Officials for Station Casinos have shown concerns with some of the road project’s design, taking into account the gambling company owns a nearly 100-acre lot on the northwest corner of Tropicana and Dean Martin Drive, former site of the Wild Wild West Gambling Hall.

Plans for the interchange include reconfiguring Dean Martin to run underneath Tropicana, eliminating the traffic signal for Dean Martin at Tropicana. Access to the northwest and southwest areas would be via frontage roads connecting Tropicana and Dean Martin.

“The way that the plan is currently contemplated, we are not satisfied that this meets our requirement for future development of the site,” said Scott Kreeger, senior vice president of development for Station Casinos, reports the previously cited news source. “The ingress and egress that is currently being proposed will limit our ability to develop to the full potential of the project.”

Station Casinos plans to accommodate a multi-billion dollar Las Vegas Strip-style megaresort on the area, “an enormous existing capital commitment”, according to Kreeger. “This project represents, additionally, an opportunity to create thousands of construction jobs as well as permanent jobs once we open for operation,” he added. “As well, it will be a new source of tax revenue for both the state and the country.”

The project, identified as Viva Resort in materials presented at a Sept. 13 state Board of Transportation meeting, has no timeline yet for construction to begin. The company’s senior VP of development describes it as in “predevelopment”, as Station Casinos is seeking entitlement rights for the site. “An actual timeline of when we’ll be putting shovels in the ground has yet to be determined,” he described.

A preliminary site map displayed at the meeting showed a massive resort with various hotel towers, a large casino and various parking structures. The venue would count with multiple access points, including from Dean Martin and from Tropicana. “It’s going to put a little constriction on how our customers get in and get out of the project,” said about the revamp Albie Colotto, coordinator of architecture and design at Station Casinos.

Gov. Steve Sisolak asked on Sept. 13 state transportation officials, Station Casinos representatives and other stakeholders to meet before October’s transportation board meeting to resolve the issues. He further noted that the Tropicana project has been planned for years and doesn’t want it dragged out any longer.

“Once you start putting shovels into the ground it’s hard to make changes,” Sisolak said. “I fully understand how important ingress and egress is for the viability of your project to begin with and I don’t want to stifle access to that because, candidly, I want you to be as successful as possible, but those jobs are really important to me.”

According to the Nevada Department of Transportation officials, the Tropicana/I-15 project should get underway early next year, following the likely approval of Kiewit Infrastructure West’s contract next month.