The Tropicana before implosion. (Photo Credit: Maura Lee-Byrne)
It took nearly 70 years to build its stature and reputation.
It took less than half a minute for it to come down.
The legendary Tropicana Hotel and Casino was imploded in spectacular fashion earlier this week and will likely change the face of the Las Vegas Strip.
Again. But Las Vegas has been able to reinvent itself for decades.
This will be something different, however. Opened in 1957, another hotel will not replace the Tropicana but its real estate will be used for a Major League Baseball stadium. For years, the city has been trying to get an expansion franchise or an existing franchise to relocate. It appears to have done so as the Oakland Athletics will move to Las Vegas in 2028.
Part of the space where the Tropicana once stood will be used to construct a new facility.
It was the first implosion on the strip in nearly a decade and it took only 22 seconds to bring down the two main buildings of the property.
"Let’s not think of it as an ending but as the beginning of something even greater,” Arik Knowles, general manager and vice president of hospitality at the Tropicana told spectators.
It certainly will be different.
Normally, the implosion of one hotel means the beginning of another. Not this time. A baseball stadium on the Strip is unique and exciting. The implosion caused room rates at the nearby Mandalay Bay Hotel to rise to $699 the night before it happened. Normally, the rate is about $80.
Steve Crupi, a former TV news reporter, said: “There's something magical about implosions. A structure that big being brought down in as little as five seconds? It just seems impossible. And yet they do it with such precision and such artistry that it really is just more than an act of demolition. It’s a work of art.”
The new baseball stadium will also fit the mantra of Las Vegas officials who had long hoped to bring professional sports to the area. The city now has a NASCAR race, a Formula 1 race, and professional hockey and was able to lure the Oakland Raiders football team to the area and hosted a Super Bowl last season.
The new stadium is expected to seat 33,000 and will cost about $1.5 billion.
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