Vegas goes for outdoor shopping, dining districts

LAS VEGAS As it breaks ground on a new, $350-million arena just off the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts International has announced plans for a tree-lined outdoor shopping and dining district that will serve as the venues grand entrance.

The casino company said the 8-acre development dubbed The Park will feature casual patio dining, dramatic desert landscaping and long, water-wall-style fountains that will stretch more than 100 feet along the entrance.

We are literally taking down the walls and opening the doors at our resorts to develop a unique dining and entertainment district that complements its lush new surroundings, said MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO Jim Murren

Park areas lined with mature trees and tall, tulip-shaped shade structures will flank Rue de Monte Carlo, a road running perpendicular to the Las Vegas Strip between the New York-New York and Monte Carlo casinos. The street itself will be reconfigured into a curving parkway that leads up to the planned, 20,000-seat arena.

Restaurants set to open in The Park include the burger joint Shake Shack, gourmet waffle eatery Bruxie and the Japanese restaurant Sake Rok. The district will also feature a beer garden, a wine bar, the Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar, and Dierks Bentleys Whiskey Row, named for the country music star.

The redevelopment comes as MGM is reworking the Strip-facing areas in front of the two casinos into a park-like promenade.

The full entertainment district is set to open in early 2016 in conjunction with the arena, a joint venture between MGM and AEG.

MGM is hardly the first Las Vegas casino company throwing its weight behind shopping and entertainment projects as gambling revenue stalls.

Earlier this year, rival Caesars Entertainment opened the outdoor shopping district LINQ, anchored by the 550-foot-tall High Roller observation wheel.

Caesars is also working on the Grand Bazaar Shops, a 2-acre, $50 million outdoor shopping district outside of Ballys Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The development, which is modeled after Istanbuls Grand Bazaar, is slated to open in the fall.

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Vegas goes for outdoor shopping, dining districts