MGM Mirage executive Tony Dennis says the $7 billion CityCenter project on the Strip will be the "new epicenter of the city of Las Vegas."

That might be possible if the 66-acre CityCenter property actually was in the city. It's not. Sitting between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on the west side of the Strip, the site is in unincorporated Clark County -- a good two miles outside the city limits.

That grinding sound you hear is Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's teeth.

Goodman wants the valley's old traditional downtown, which is squarely in the city, to be the "new epicenter." Goodman is the indefatigable champion of reviving the venerable Clark's Townsite.

And things are going fairly well for the mayor. The World Market Center, close to finishing its second gargantuan building and gearing up for a third, is quickly establishing itself as the furniture industry's Western hub. Next door, the Las Vegas Premium Outlets have announced plans to expand. A big performing arts center is on the way, as is a medical research center designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry.

There's more good news for downtown. Mid-rise condos are sprouting up. The Golden Nugget is undergoing a $100 million renovation, and the Lady Luck is being revamped. Third Street restaurants and clubs are drawing crowds. The charmingly scruffy arts district is emerging as an identifiable piece of urban geography. Heck, somebody even threw a new coat of paint (purple!) on the apartments next to the wreckage of the historic Moulin Rouge casino.

Good, interesting stuff is materializing in Goodman's downtown, but it isn't happening overnight, and it can't compete with the jaw-dropping plans for the Strip.

And never will.

By my count, serious resort developers have committed to invest $35 billion in the Strip corridor over the next 10 years. No fewer than a dozen projects have a price tag exceeding $1 billion.

MGM Mirage's CityCenter currently is the big dog at $7 billion. But Boyd Gaming is no slouch with its $4 billion Echelon Place project (which will replace the Stardust). And we haven't heard yet from Harrah's, which is making noises that its answer to CityCenter will be even more gargantuan. Don't be surprised if Harrah's vision for the east side of the Strip tops $10 billion.

Goodman's good works look like rolled pennies compared with these numbers.

Which brings me to my point, finally. When Tony Dennis says CityCenter will be the "new epicenter," it's basically a promotional slogan. The truth is, the Strip has been the epicenter of Las Vegas since the mid-1940s.

Goodman's downtown has and probably always will have the market cornered as the valley's government and legal hub. Downtown is where the city, county, state and federal governments have the bulk of their offices, and it's where the courts are located. And since the courts are downtown, the majority of lawyers also have their offices there.

Downtown also is where the young hipsters -- the relative few that Las Vegas has, anyway -- are starting to congregate. Young singles and couples with a built-in distaste for suburbia are buying older homes in the downtown area. Artists and art entrepreneurs are establishing studios and opening galleries. And arty types from across the valley religiously show up downtown every month for First Friday, the arts and culture fair.

But it's important to put all this cheerleading in perspective. Downtown is in revival, no question about it, but it's not an epicenter. For an overwhelming majority of the valley's 1.8 million people, the only reason to go downtown is to fight a traffic ticket.

On the other hand, most Las Vegans find themselves drawn to the Strip on a regular basis -- to work, gamble, eat, drink, shop, dance, see a show.

Sure, we all know locals who boast that they haven't been to the Strip for months and they're happy about that. But most of them aren't going downtown either.

MGM Mirage's CityCenter is impressive. Crews started pouring the foundation last week, and reporters were invited to ogle the latest model. World-class architects are designing the gleaming hotels, towering condos and massive retail district, and what they've come up with is an aesthetic leap forward for Las Vegas.

When it's completed in 2009, CityCenter will employ 12,000 people, and it will be a destination for tourists and locals alike. But as I understand it, CityCenter's 500,000-square-foot mall won't be just another promenade of pricey boutiques and chic restaurants. A key element will be cultural programming: public art, entertainment, events.

It'll be First Friday every day at CityCenter.

My layman's eye, however, did spot one advantage downtown Las Vegas could have. Situated midway between Flamingo Road and Tropicana Avenue, CityCenter looks like a recipe for traffic gridlock. MGM Mirage and Clark County officials are working to address that issue, but no matter how you look at it, getting in and out of there will require a level of patience that many locals just don't have.

For better or worse, downtown gridlock isn't likely to be a problem for the foreseeable future.

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is the Stephens Media Group's director of community publications. His column appears Sunday.