Following Station Casinos’ recent demolition of Fiesta Henderson, the city of Henderson has voted to purchase the now-vacant 35-acre site for approximately $32 million.
$30 million of that price will come from redevelopment funds, with the remaining $2 million coming from the city’s land fund. Officials told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the land had been appraised for over $56 million.
Jared Smith, the city’s director of economic development and tourism,
told local outlet FOX5 that the city is looking to use the site as “a youth sports multisport facility,” given that “there is so much pent up demand for sports activities.”
“It could be basketball, volleyball and soccer,” Smith added. “We’re going to go through a planning process that will help us determine that.”
In a press release, Henderson City Manager Richard Derrick posited that the redeveloped site could reap an annual economic impact of “nearly $40 million.” Restaurant and retail shopping will also be built on the site to “help replace” some of the revenue that was previously generated by the demolished casino, according to the release.
Although the casino is gone, the parking garage is still intact, which will save the city a lot of money in construction. Now that the deal has been approved, it is expected to close by the end of the year.
Also included in the city’s release were comments from Scott Kreeger, president of Station’s parent company, Red Rock Resorts. Kreeger said that the company is happy that the site “will be used in such a positive way for the Henderson community.”
Despite the excitement for the purchase, Councilman John Marz cautioned his fellow officials during the council meeting discussing the deal, saying that he felt there should have been a few more questions answered before the city “invested $32 million in a piece of land.”
Despite Marz’s comments, the deal was approved by a unanimous 4-0 vote.
