In fact, there's a very interesting article in yesterday's Las Vegas Review Journal that goes over City Center in great detail which anyone interested in the high rise market should read. For the most part, the article portrays a rosy future for this mega-project. However, myself (and a whole bunch of other readers - read the comments section at the end of the article for some REAL insights into this project) think there are big hurdles to scale before anyone can think CityCenter will be a success. Questions such as the following:1) How's it going to pay for itself? How can they possibly get the ROI needed to keep this city within a city thriving? 8 BILLION dollars is a lot of money!
2) Who's going to play there? Certainly not the locals. Are there enough rich sultans in the world willing to visit, gamble, spend, eat, drink, etc. at CityCenter at the expense of Wynn and his casinos? I can see CityCenter packing them in for the first few months or so - and I myself can't wait to go and see it (and maybe even play a little $5 blackjack? - doubtful) - but after that when the luster's worn off, then what's going to happen? Ask the people over at the M Resort about that. That project was amazingly "successful" for the first few months. Now people leave that place faster than Tiger Woods drives his car out of his garage.
3) How will the condo portion of the project effect the market? Even while CityCenter slashed condo prices supposedly 30%, when you consider what's going on in the market, who'll buy them? Add the HOA fees and you probably have to be a partner in MGM somehow just to afford the payment plus mortgage. That is, if you can even get a mortgage! Since banks aren't lending on condos, pretty much any deal has to be all cash. Are there enough rich people overseas that will plunk down that kind of money for something they'll maybe visit twice a year?
4) Has anyone given any thought of the traffic nightmares this development presents on an already crowded intersection? Who's going to put themselves through all that on a consistent basis? Traffic and parking issues believe it or not are the single biggest predictor of whether or not a retail business survives. This is a serious point that everyone in the media seems to be overlooking.
5) Can bankruptcy be far behind? And if so, will MGM CEO Jim Murren still be considered the forward thinking poster child genious he's portrayed to be in another article regarding CityCenter published in the Las Vegas Sun? (read the comments on that story too!). Here's one of my pet peeves regarding the media: mixing news with promotion. According to the article, "Murren never doubted the success of CityCenter. It was right for the company, right for Las Vegas", spoken as if the project was already successful. It's not successful - yet. I'm from Vegas and plan on being here for years. I want this project to work, but let's hold judgment on whether it's a success or not until after it opens, okay?
And speaking of which, you may want to brave the traffic for just one night tomorrow (Tuesday, December 1st) when the Vdara opens its doors. Then go again on Thursday when the Crystals retail district opens within the development. The Mandarin Oriental is scheduled to open on Saturday. Shortly after that, the Aria hotel casino opens on December 16th, followed by the Veer Towers opening in January 2010.
I can't wait to see the development myself. I love the way it looks - CityCenter in my opinion is absolutely gorgeous! But like a traffic accident, it's more like it's drawing my interest and curiosity more than being a destination I'll consistently go to. Perhaps I'll be wrong about that, but I am looking forward to the openings. I have a feeling I'm a lot like the average person in that respect. You'll go to CityCenter once, check it all out, maybe play a few hands of blackjack or craps (with a $25 minimum), walk through the shopping areas (while not buying anything), order a $18 martini (just to say you had one), wait forever to get your car, and drive back home.
Then like Kaiser Soze, my guess is CityCenter will never see you again.
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