Iconic Las Vegas Strip Attraction Gets a Stay of Execution

A major change is coming to Sin City's iconic 4.2-mile road, but maybe not in the way most people expected.

No matter how much a once-beloved attraction has aged, it will always have fans that want it to live on forever. You can see that at Walt Disney's (DIS) - Get Free Report theme parks where aged, and frankly boring, rides like "Carousel of Progress" and the "Enchanted Tiki Room" remain despite their best days being long in the past.

The same thing has been true at Comcast's (CMCSA) - Get Free Report Universal Studios where "E.T. Adventure" remains a seemingly untouchable fixture despite kids no longer knowing the character and the ride being a dilapidated mess.  

Parents want their kids to experience at least some of the things they grew up with and some people simply value nostalgia over anything new. That's relatively fine at a theme park where nostalgia actually drives ticket sales. It's a much worse idea on the Las Vegas Strip where land has continued to rise in cost, making the revenue produced by every square foot increasingly relevant.

That's why as soon as it became public that MGM Resorts International (MGM) - Get Free Report was selling The Mirage, people began to worry about the fate of its iconic, but non-revenue-producing Volcano.

Now, Mirage's new owner, Hard Rock International, has shared the Volcano's fate and for fans of the attraction, it's sort of mixed news.

Mirage Volcano Survives a While Longer

While Hard Rock took control of The Mirage at the end of last year, its plans to make major changes to the property won't happen quickly. The company did not explain why, but it's likely that the increasing cost of financing a major construction project plays a factor.

Hard Rock does plan to build its signature Guitar Hotel partially on the site where the Mirage Volcano sits now, but Hard Rock International Chairman gave fans of the attraction some welcome news.

"We're very respectful of the legacy of the volcano, but we recognize that is part of the Mirage of the past," Allen said during a meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission. "We will not be continuing to operate the volcano once we commence construction."

That sounds like bad news for Volcano fans, but the closure of the attraction has been seen as imminent since Hard Rock acquired the property. Work, however, has not begun and while Allen claimed an 18-24 month construction timeline, he also promised an update "at the end of 2023."

Essentially, that means that while the Mirage Volcano will close, it will likely remain in operation for most of the year. That at least gives long-time fans a chance to experience it one last time (and perhaps bring their kids).

Mirage Undergoing Major Changes

Allen has insisted that Mirage won't close during the construction after earlier reports that it would. With an uncertain timeline, that's actually what the company has to say if it hopes for people to continue to book rooms and events at Mirage.

In reality, it seems unlikely that the resort casino won't close at all during what is going to be a total overhaul of the property where it's going to be stripped back to its concrete shell. Allen did leave himself some room to change that decision in his comments on the subject, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

“There’s no intention at this time to close the building,” Allen said. “We certainly are like any company. We will look at the construction schedule, we will look at the economy, whether there is or is not a recession and a year and a half from now or so probably would be the timeframe that we would evaluate what makes the most sense."

And while the Volcano will close once construction begins, another Mirage fixture appears to have a longer life ahead of it. The new owner has made it clear that it intends to extend the "Beatles: Love" Cirque du Soleil show for the long term.

Another attraction, "Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden," has already closed. Hard Rock has been working on finding new homes for the animals that live there.