Developers plan amusement park, retail center on Las Vegas Strip

County Commission is scheduled to hear the proposal on March 2

Image

Steve Marcus

Developers have proposed plans for an amusement park on this 9.6-acre site across from Mandalay Bay. The site is the location of the former Cloud Nine balloon, which closed late last year. Balloon operators were marking their inaugural flight in this Oct. 8, 2009, photo.

Fri, Feb 18, 2011 (1:17 p.m.)

Map

An amusement park is in the works on a site where another family-friendly attraction failed at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip.

Developers hope to build a recreational facility that would include amusement rides on a 9.6-acre site across from Mandalay Bay, according to plans filed with Clark County.

The proposal was submitted by Desert Land LLC and Desert Oasis Investments LLC, both of which are controlled by Las Vegas real estate developers David Gaffin and Howard Bulloch. Desert Land and Desert Oasis Investments are listed as owners of the site.

The plan calls for up to eight amusement rides, including a 500-foot Ferris wheel. In addition to rides, plans also include a 21,000-square-foot convention center and a 139,500-square-foot venue for retail, restaurants and offices.

Developers said in their proposal that the facility would be built in two phases, but didn't include a timeline for construction in their submitted plans.

The project's developers declined to comment on the plans until the Clark County Commission hears the proposal, which is scheduled for March 2.

The land for the proposed amusement park was used as the site for the Cloud Nine helium balloon ride, which closed late last year. The attraction was operated by Cloud Nine Entertainment with entrepreneur Kevin Michaels as CEO.

Cloud Nine opened in October 2009 as the world's largest helium-filled, land-tethered balloon, but was plagued with wind issues from the start.

Back to top

SHARE

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy