# MGM has grand plans with trendy squares, sports stadiums
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MGM Resorts International will spend $100 million to transform land along the strip surrounding New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts into an outdoor plaza and pedestrian mall with trendy shops, restaurants and public parks.

The plaza will serve as a gateway to the 20,000-seat sports stadium, which the company will build behind the two resorts with AEG, a national arena developer.

The facades of the New York-New York Hotel & Casino and Monte Carlo Resort & Casino will be renovated as part of the retail, dining and entertainment zone. The development will include several new restaurants, nightlife venues and entertainment attractions in Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts announced its development plans today. Some initial construction has begun, and the company expects retail and restaurant complexes to open by early 2014.

"Our vision is to dramatically change sidewalks along the Las Vegas strip, significantly strengthening the region and creating the energy found in the world's largest cities," MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Muren said in an interview.

"A visitor to Las Vegas no longer wants to shackle a resort. The visitor wants to move around and be sociable. That's exactly what this type of development is offering customers," Muren said.

The non-game project is the second attraction under construction on the strip.

Casars Entertainment Corp. is building the $550 million Linq project, which features retail, dining, and entertainment, and 550-foot observation wheels, between the flamingo and The Quad (formerly Imperial Palace). Linq will open by the end of this year, and the observation wheels will open in 2014.

Muren said Las Vegas has grown beyond the mega-resort era of the past decade and should create new forms of entertainment and attraction beyond the typical casino experience.

"Today's consumers don't find the previous concept attractive," he said, "and I think this type of investment enhances the experience for visitors."

MGM Resorts will pay for strip development through a $350 million capital improvement budget in 2013 and 2014, including hotel room renovations and other amenities in a few of its 10 strip casinos.

The stadium budget is not part of the plaza's development, it is separate. MGM Resorts and AEG are asking for architect proposals to include the stadium's design and budget.

Murren said the development will be phased out, with the park and arena as the final pieces of the 2016 completion date. The entire project, including the strip frontage, is 63 acres of land between the two resorts and the arena site.

A central feature of the new outdoor plaza includes Hershey's Chocolate World, a two-story interactive attraction that celebrates Hershey's branded products to be built near New York-New York. The resort's skyline and Brooklyn Bridge area will be modified for better pedestrian access.

Shake Shack, a "roadside" hamburger and hot dog stand in New York developed by Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, will open the West's first place at the entrance of an outdoor park. The park itself will have a dining area and a performance area.

Monte Carlo's European façade will be replaced by the roadhouse-style bars and restaurants Double Barrel and Sambalatte Coffee House, which are being developed by SBE Entertainment. The cantina of Diablo will remain in its current location.

Architecture companies Cooper, Robertson & Partners will design the square area. The company has developed urban public places, including Battery Park City Esplanade and Zucchini Park in New York City, Fountain Square in Cincinnati, and City Front Center in Chicago.

Merren said MGM Resorts will own most of the square's venues, but the lease will be signed with several partner companies like Hershey.

The development is expected to employ 1,000 to 1,500 construction workers, and places in the square can employ an estimated 2,000 workers.

The stadium will allow MGM Resorts to offer more events, including professional and college basketball and hockey games. It should sometimes be shunned at the company's two other strip venues - the 17,000-seat MGM Grand Garden and the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Event Center.

"We will be able to accommodate more performances and sporting events than ever," said Muren.

NEW YORK – While renovating the facades of New York and Monte Carlo, the construction team will demolish the currently unused City Center preview building and several buildings behind New York-New York that serve as offices for the City Center.

Muren said MGM Resorts is setting up office space here to accommodate 400 workers. [바카라사이트](https://outlookindia.com/outlook-spotlight/2023년-한국을-대표하는-카지노-사이트-best-10--news-326663)

Rue De Monte Carlo, the distance from the strip to the resort parking area, will also be expanded and improved.