Just weeks after closing its shuttle bay doors at the Las Vegas Hilton, Star Trek: The Experience is being hailed by a new "Lost Wages" venue.
The Experience shut down Sept. 1 after 10 years at the Hilton. Reports claimed it wasn't bringing in the same revenues anymore, and the hotel was looking to use the space for new attractions.
But, as originally reported here at Wired.com, ownership of the Neonopolis (a shopping and entertainment venue near the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas) expressed interest in becoming the Star Trek museum and shopping destination's new home.
Local Vegas news reports say a deal is close to completion, and Ted Newkirk (the appropriately named managing editor of AccessVegas.com) confirmed those rumors.
"Chances are good that the Neonopolis is seriously interested because Star Trek: The Experience is a destination attraction," Newkirk said. "People go out of their way to see it."
"The Las Vegas Hilton was NOT on the beaten path at all, nor did it cater to a clientele that would be drawn to STE," he explained. "People sought out STE and found the Hilton. They will do the same if STE moves downtown, but with an added bonus. Downtown already has a built-in audience filling thousands and thousands of hotel rooms. Many of those will go see STE for fun."
Neonopolis has a history of struggling to find investment and adequate visitor business, but the attraction locked up new deals with businesses this week.
Newkirk explained, "Neonopolis failed (so far) on two accounts: They were banking on locals driving to the heart of downtown, paying for parking (unheard of here) to watch movies when the suburbs are dotted with theaters in local casinos (with free parking). Also, the dining venues in Neonopolis were ahead of their time. East Fremont had not yet been developed. So, there was nothing to bring people to that block."
"Because Neonopolis has been such a failure with so many false starts, nothing would probably be mentioned or acknowledged unless and until an agreement was signed. I'm otherwise very bullish on downtown in the next few years. STE would be a great fit."
Calls for confirmation from the Neonopolis management were not returned Friday.
Image courtesy John David Lewinski
See also:
