Free parking has always been a hallmark of the Las Vegas Strip but that benefit may go away over the next few years because the Strip’s largest company just announced it would impose parking fees at its garages.
MGM Grand became the first company to test the pay-for-parking waters because it is opening the T-Mobile Arena, which it co-owns with AEG, behind New York-New York. Questions about how parking would be handled have been somewhat answered by the announcement but there are still burning questions. One of those questions was answered with the announcement that a new $54-million, 3,000-space parking garage will be built on the northwest corner of the Excalibur property.
The new parking garage will serve the T-Mobile Arena, The Park and the Theater at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino and provide additional onsite parking for employees. Construction will begin in the second quarter of 2016, with completion scheduled in the 2nd quarter of 2017.
Only one price was listed in the release—overnight self parking will be $10 or less at MGM properties. While there is no estimate of hourly rates, it’s likely that holders of the MGM players’ card, MLife, would get a discount if not free parking.
MGM tried to spin the announcement by saying it would bring patron benefits alone with it.
“The parking process is our customers’ first and last touch-point with us. Our guests expect and deserve an enhancement to this aspect of our resort experience,” said Corey Sanders, MGM Resorts International chief operating officer. “We’ve taken into account our customer feedback and carefully planned these improvements to address some of their most common concerns—challenging navigation and difficulty finding available spaces. We acknowledge that this aspect of our resort experience can be improved, and we’re taking an aggressive approach.”
The company said it will spend an additional $36 million to upgrade the parking experience.
• Redesigned parking facility layouts to improve accessibility
• Parking guidance systems that will guide guests to available spaces
• Mobile technology allowing visitors to check space availability prior to arrival
• Upgraded lighting, LED signage, paint and striping
• Elevator and escalator upgrades and enhancements
Guests utilizing self-park facilities will be able to check real-time availability from a smartphone and quickly find a space by following interactive signage and LED guidance.
