UNLV still isn’t even thinking about asking for state money for a new football stadium until 2017 (though it is hoping the buy the land by the end of this year), but that’s not going to stop intrepid Las Vegas Review-Journal reporters from asking local businesses what they think of this stadium that may or may not ever be built on their doorstep:
“It would bring more business all day long,” said Breina Colbert, a 2013 UNLV graduate who is the manager at the Einsteins bagel shop, one of 16 Einsteins stores in Las Vegas.
The district manager for the Subway submarine sandwich shop in the McCarran Village shopping center agreed a stadium next door would be great for business.
“More foot traffic is always good,” said Subway district manager Derek Bushberger, who is also a UNLV graduate. “It would bring people to the area. I’m all for it.”
Let’s do the math here: UNLV football plays six home games a year. There are 365 days in a year. The only way this football is going to bring business “all day long” is if the stadium catches on fire and the university sells tickets to see the ruins.
Okay, that’s not quite fair: There’s supposed to be additional commercial development on the site, too, so maybe that will bring in more 24/7 foot traffic. Let’s see, what do they have planned?
— Four to five quick-service restaurants of 2,500-3,000 square feet each. Possible brands could be Blaze Pizza or Pita Pit.
— Four to five sit-down restaurants of 6,000-8,000 square feet each. Possible brands include Buffalo Wild Wings.
— A UNLV themed restaurant/bar of 6,000-8,000 square feet.
— Entertainment building of 30,000 square feet for a brand such as Dave & Buster’s.
— Ancillary retail of 10,000-12,000 square feet.
So, sure, people might get hungry and want to stop for bagels on the way to … the Buffalo Wild Wings? I guess when your job is running a bagel chain outlet in Las Vegas, you have to find any way possible to give hope to your existence, though “Maybe I can apply for a job managing the Pita Pit!” probably would have been more honest.
Neil,
I like how you highlight the apparent idiocy of every politician, would-be businessman (small or large), and those individuals in-between. UNLV is an utter joke of a football team right now. Granted, Tony Sanchez is trying real hard to turn it around and does have some serious money ties to some local heavy hitters in town (most notably, the Fertittas). Yet he will start to run into the same resistance Jerry Tarkanian experienced when he was coaching the Rebels. The powers-that-be at the time (Steve Wynn and other powerful casino execs) were extremely jealous of Tarkanian, ultimately using UNLV’s president at the time (Robert Maxey) to get him out of there. The university hasn’t been the same since.
Now since major “college” athletic sports (football and basketball) basically has their own mint to print money, those same execs want to cash in on the money. The only reason a stadium is even being considered for UNLV is their delusions of grandeur in joining one of the Power 5 Conferences. Correction: joining the Big 12, as hell would freeze over before the PAC-12 extends membership to a commuter school. The other 3 geographically doesn’t work and wouldn’t anyway from a competitive and educational standpoint.
The Big 12 is UNLV’s best shot of joining the big boys. Their calling card is that UNLV (and its surrounding areas) is one of the few remaining schools that resides in a major available television market that is not part of a major conference. Not to mention, the University of Texas is hellbent on capping the number of Texas-based teams in the Big 12 at 4 (UT, Tech, TCU, and Baylor). Houston has tried and been rebuffed. Central Florida and University of South Florida was part of a Power Conference until that conference was essentially kicked out after Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Boston College defected. Cincinnati is doing everything outside of pimping itself to get in the ACC, yet they are considered a commuter school like UNLV is. So perhaps maybe people here are under the impression of the old real estate saying: if we build it they will come. Good luck with that.
Three Einstein’s within walking distance of Wrigley Field have closed down in the past six months (okay one was all the way to the Belmont CTA stop). This was part of a move to close about 40 under-performing stores nationwide (11 of which were in Chicago), but one of the stores was all of one block down Clark from the ballpark. So having 81 game days (and last I checked 81 >> 6) didn’t do much to help that Einstein’s avoid the death penalty.
I’ve been having this very same argument with arena proponents in Sacramento.
There’s a Macy’s and a movie theater right next door to the new arena. Macy’s closes at 9 p.m. Infamously, its garage also closes at 9 p.m. I guess about 10 people a night park in that lot, come out of their movie at 11, and the car is locked in. Since it’s Macy’s and not the mall, mall security doesn’t have the keys to the lot. You have to return tomorrow for your car.
But back to Macy’s, an arena proponent told me how much busier Macy’s will be with that new arena. Um, sure. There’s another Macy’s 5 miles away, with free parking. I have never felt the desire to go to Macy’s right before, during, or after a basketball game. Have you? Moreover, Macy’s has validated parking, so it’s free to park there. When parking is $30 on event nights, will people who want to go to Macy’s, but NOT the game, really go to the downtown store? No way.
I figure Macy’s business at that location will drop to near zero for between 120-150 nights/year. That will probably be enough to close the business. Macy’s owns that building and the on-site parking lot (that closes at 9), so it would raise money for them to sell it.
We are seeing turnover in occupancy downtown right now. People are simply placing their bets. The occupancy rate doesn’t seem to have changed. There seems to be no interest in the old Greyhound depot directly across the street from the new arena.
I honestly do think that when businesses see what a traffic and parking mess the new arena causes in that area, they’ll be reluctant to stay or move in. Sorry, but people won’t show up to Macy’s to buy All-Clad during a basketball game. Why would I, when I can avoid parking and traffic hassles by going to the location that’s 5 miles away?
The pro-arena people I’ve talked to seem to think Macy’s business will really improve there. I just don’t think so.
@MikeM – if the location “five miles away” you refer to is Country Club Plaza, then the discriminating nighttime Macy’s shopper is probably going to prefer the location adjacent to the arena, where there are many more people with much more money and far better cameras on their cell phones than the ones that usually inhabit the area around El Camino and Watt.
As to whether Macy’s business will improve at the downtown location? (shrug) It’s six-five and pick ’em. However, with a dead mall attached to its waist, that location’s existing business prior to the arena coming in was just a little bit north of “deader than dogcrap” anyway, so…
Here in Edmonton, a grocery store opened up on a main artery in a previously vacant store front. It’s an ethnic grocery store chain which happens to be very popular here in Edmonton, but has seriously crowded out many of the shops nearby as parking has suddenly become a premium and many regulars no longer have the patience to return with as much frequency.
I can still see this as potentially happening downtown with the new arena despite general excitement and optimism about the Oilers relocating downtown. Remains to be seen who will benefit and who will be affected.
My hunch is the bigger the venue, the worse the crowding out problem becomes.
No, Arden Fair Mall.
They might be onto something. It’s not like there are a lot of places to eat in Vegas whenever you get hungry.
Why the insulting comment about restaurant managers? Ever walk into a fast food restaurant? The managers are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever seen and have to do their job dealing with unmotivated employees with high turnover. So what that they’re not experts on this subject? The politicians are the idiots, don’t lower yourself and mock the working man. I always thought this blog was actually for the working man to save our taxes, not to mock them
“I guess when your job is running a bagel chain outlet in Las Vegas, you have to find any way possible to give hope to your existence, though “Maybe I can apply for a job managing the Pita Pit!” probably would have been more honest.”
I have nothing against restaurant managers. In fact, they’re generally overworked and underpaid, which is why I wrote what I wrote: If you’re running a chain bagel outlet in Nevada for a living, I’d have to hope you’d be smart enough to be thinking about what some new restaurants would mean for your own career possibilities, and not for the future of your employer of the moment.