Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/124284
As mayor, Goodman was a huge proponent of Downtown. BELOW: His new memoir is out June 4. out taking pictures of the outside. But on the inside, of course, the research taking place there is extraordinary. The research on Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases is, no pun intended, mind-boggling. There were certain people who became critical to that success—a couple of city managers in Doug Selby and Betsy Fretwell, who have worked very closely with Dan Van Epp, who was the president of the Howard Hughes Corporation, to make this happen. It was with their assistance that the City of Las Vegas acquired the 61 acres that we now call Symphony Park. A vision was created by these people and with others, like Myron Martin and Don Snyder, executives with the new Smith Center, and Larry Ruvo. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation contributed the basic funding for what would turn out to be a world-class performing arts center, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. The third goal, of course, inspired our efforts to become a major league sports city. We've had hiccups along the way, and the economy certainly hasn't helped us, but I know the mayor is working on a daily basis to accomplish that goal, because she knew that was one of my dreams, too. One of the reasons she ran for mayor was to make sure that what we had set out to do, we got done. We've been able to change the NBA's attitude toward our open sports books, which is a big deal in acquiring a franchise. We have, within the 61 acres at Symphony Park, land set aside for The Cordish Company to develop the project. There are continuing and continuous discussions with them, and with people who are associated with the ownership of various franchises, as to that being the place. Everything comes down to dollars. One thing from this past decade that I am especially proud of, because I had to fight for it, is the Mob Museum. People wanted to lynch me for proposing it. They wanted to string me up and tar and feather me. I know I said 800,000 and then 600,000 were the visitor estimates for the first year, because that's how many I was told there would be. But to have 200-some thousand people visit a museum in the first year is extraordinary. I can't think of any project that has generated as much publicity and excitement in terms of development happening in a particular location as the relocation of Zappos to the old City Hall building. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and his people saw that there was the opportunity for creativity and success in an otherwise decrepit Downtown Las Vegas. This has coincided with all of the activity in the Fremont East Entertainment District, and a lot of great renovation happening at hotels on Fremont Street and in the district, like the D, Golden Nugget, Plaza (where my restaurant, Oscar's, is located), El Cortez, even Gold Spike. Millions of dollars have been invested. Now, this is not a pat on my back, but sometimes I shake my head in bewilderment that I've been out of office for only a year and a half and it's as though people have forgotten that all of this happened—they think Zappos sort of came down in a parachute. But it all took a lot of work and a lot of vision. What the people got when they bought the Goodmans is tenacity. Once we have an idea and we think it's the right thing for the city, we really don't worry about our critics. V PRECEDING PAGE: PHOTOGRAPHY BY DENISE TRUSCELLO/WIREIMAGE. THIS PAGE: ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES (MURREN, GOODMAN); SAM MORRIS/LAS VEGAS SUN (JONES) What the people got when they bought the Goodmans is tenacity. the next 10 years... What's next for our reinventionloving, can-do town? For the future of Las Vegas, we turned to its current leaders. "With the growth in companies headquartered in Las Vegas, the need to hire great people is increasing daily. Jim Unemployment rates Murren will decrease and, once again, we will become a place where you can move to find a great career in a growing industry. I've never been more excited and bullish about our future." —Jim Murren, chairman and CEO, MGM Resorts International "Every time we've tried to veer away from 'What happens here stays here,' our visitors rebel. Whether it's weathering the recession or an increasing pressure to meet expectations, the need to escape to Vegas continues."—Billy Vassiliadis, CEO and principal, R&R Partners Jan "I have long Jones believed that the one element missing in the Las Vegas community was an urban core, a center where locals could congregate. We are finally on the verge with the redevelopment of Downtown, supported by the economic vision of Tony Hsieh."—Jan Jones, former mayor and current executive VP of communications and government relations, Caesars Entertainment "We should begin to see a surge in Asian visitor volume with Genting's announcement of the new destination resort Resorts World Las Vegas [formerly Echelon]. Las Vegas is starting to rumble again. I can sense it, feel it, and actually see it."—Larry Ruvo, founder of Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and senior managing director of Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 137 128-137_V_Feat_Anniversary_MAY/JUNE_13.indd 137 4/23/13 2:59 PM