Tropicana Hotel closes in 1 week, deconstruction plan not yet finalized

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – From the tourists checking in for their last stay to lounge performers soaking in their final days, there’s not much time left to witness a relic of 1950s Las Vegas that’s more commonly referred to now as the future site of a $1.5 billion baseball stadium.

The Bally’s Corporation, which operates The Tropicana Hotel, told the Nevada Gaming Commission last week it’s on track to close the historic doors on Tuesday, April 2. It makes way for the construction of the A’s baseball stadium along nine acres of Las Vegas Boulevard.

Come closing day, the gaming floors are slated to close at 3 a.m. with the final checkout processed and meal served sometime around noon. Ameet Patel, senior vice president & western regional manager of the Bally’s Corporation, also told commissioners some gaming has already moved out as some employees sought work at the nearby Fontainebleau and Durango Hotels.

“We plan to continue the operation as is up to April second,” Patel said to the commission on March 21.

The 600 employees still on staff by the closure will dwindle to around 100 the following day, Patel said, as certain job functions lose necessity without guests. He says roles like security and engineering will remain through a 90-day “ramp-down” period.

After those 90 days comes the expected demolition, but will it look like the dozens of implosions that came before? Don’t ask the businesses around it.

Those like the Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer, a direct neighbor of the hotel, say they’re still waiting for Bally’s call that explains their deconstruction process and how it could potentially impact them. A Bally’s representative confirmed to 8 News Now Tuesday that the plan is not yet finalized one week ahead of the hotel’s closure.

It leaves Montie Chavez and the Archdiocese of Las Vegas unclear of crucial information needed to operate around the eventual deconstruction expected, at the earliest, in mid-summer. The director of communications adds they are already in talks with the A’s to move locations, whether permanently or not, because of the eventual stadium construction.

“Traffic flows, parking could be an issue,” Chavez said outside the church Tuesday afternoon, pointing to their parking lot entrance directly off the shared street between them and the Tropicana. “Hopefully we’re not going to be forced to relocate the shrine as it could impact a lot of the local Catholics and the tourists and visitors that do come here on a weekly basis.”

Bally’s Corporation’s CFO confirmed to 8 News Now that they will clear the nine acres of land by April 2025, when they expect to hand operational keys over to the A’s.

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