Las Vegas economy watcher says CityCenter may hurt other properties
May 13, 2009 - 9:11 am
Las Vegas breathed a sigh of relief when MGM Mirage rescued CityCenter from the brink of collapse a few weeks ago.
But there are troubling hints that the folks who watch the Las Vegas economy think the CityCenter opening will hurt other properties.
That’s a far different tune than previous major resort openings, which typically get credit for attracting new visitors, not poaching old ones from other properties.
Trepidation over CityCenter bubbled to the surface Tuesday during a meeting of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Members of the board of directors were grilling LVCVA finance director Brenda Siddall about the budgets for fiscal years 2009 and 2010.
At one point, Siddall let slip that once CityCenter opens with thousands of new rooms there could be "current rooms that may not survive."
Siddall continued: "They may be closed down temporarily until the economy improves."