Wynn Las Vegas recently announced that they were no longer be pursuing its lagoon project known as Paradise Park. The project was first proposed in 2016 and was expected to have a lagoon, boardwalk, food services, and a new convention center. Paradise Park was also designed to be surrounded by white sand beaches, making it a popular attraction for locals and tourists alike. However, CEO Matt Maddox of Wynn Resorts announced on November 7 th that Wynn was abandoning the project but had a new one in mind. The company will now be restoring an 18-hole golf course alongside a new convention center.
Originally designed by Tom Fazio, the golf course had closed last December. Unfortunately, it was the last course of its magnitude on the Strip. The closing of the golf course last year resulted in loyal customers searching elsewhere for entertainment, leading to a loss of an estimated $10 to $15 million dollars. Wynn Las Vegas has now invited Tom Fazio back to the course to help with the redesign. The golf course is set to be up and running again before the opening of the convention center.
The lagoon project was first envisioned with two phases that included the construction of a convention center measuring 400,000 square feet. The second phase of the project included the construction of a 38 acre lagoon along with three new hotel towers. Steve Wynn wanted to create the lagoon with hopes of hosting water sports during the day time and parades of decorated floats and a fireworks display each night. Phase two of the project was where the problems started. With a focus on the building of the convention center, the three hotel towers and adjacent lagoon went on the backburner.
Currently, the convention center is under construction east of the Wynn Las Vegas tower and just north of Sands Avenue. It consists of 200,000 square feet of spaces that can be rented, adding 4 to 6 points of occupancy to the hotel. With the lagoon and associated amenities, the convention center project was projected to cost more than $3 billion dollars. Although we won’t be seeing a lagoon, Wynn Las Vegas does have some new stuff in store for its customers. In addition to its new 75,000 square foot shopping center that includes outlets like Soul Cycle and Cipriani, the company also plans to open up five new restaurants and more than 50,000 square feet of extra retail space.
One of the biggest factors that came into play when deciding to toss the idea of the Paradise Park Lagoon came in December 2017. When Wynn purchased 38 acres of land just across the street from the Wynn Resort at the former site of the New Frontier, the company decided that the space would be better suited for a golf course. The company also admitted that they were not really interested in building a large public swimming pool on the Las Vegas Strip.
The site in which the new golf club will open next year is no stranger to the fairways. The Desert Inn Golf Club opened in 1952 and hosted over 35 professional golf tournaments before its end in 2001 when Steve Wynn transformed the space for its two hotels, Wynn and Encore, as well as the Wynn Golf Club. In 2005, the Fazio design debuted and included the massive waterfall located behind the 18 th green. Customers can expect Fazio’s participation in the redesign to be similar. No matter what, the new golf course is sure to see epic success.