Station Casinos starts demolishing another hotel

Station Casinos started tearing down another hotel this week.

Work crews demolished most of Fiesta Rancho’s five-story hotel tower, on the north side of the property across from a drive-in movie theater, as of Thursday morning. Just a portion of that exposed structure, with mounds of debris piled up in front, remained standing.

Driving around the property, it appeared the rest of Fiesta Rancho was still standing as well.

Occupying roughly 25 acres at Rancho Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard, in North Las Vegas, Fiesta Rancho boasted 100 rooms, more than 1,000 slot machines and 12 table games, as well as restaurants, bars and an entertainment lounge.

Its attached ice rink is expected to stay.

Station parent Red Rock Resorts announced last summer it would tear down Fiesta Rancho, Texas Station and Fiesta Henderson — all of which had been closed since the onset of the pandemic — and sell the sites.

It later unveiled plans to demolish the Wild Wild West hotel-casino near the Strip and redevelop the property.

Station tore down Fiesta Henderson last year. The Henderson City Council approved the city’s purchase of the 35-acre property for $32 million in December, with plans to build a recreational sports complex.

Texas Station, across the street from Fiesta Rancho, had been reduced to piles of rubble as of February.

Las Vegas-based Station declined to comment for this story.

Overall, the demolitions are part of a broader push by the locals-focused casino chain to overhaul its presence in the region.

Station, which has extensive land holdings in Southern Nevada, has said it wants to double its portfolio by 2030. It sold some properties last year, bought others, and is pushing ahead with plans for a new crop of resort projects.

Its under-construction Durango resort, in the southwest valley, is showing plenty of progress ahead of its expected fourth-quarter debut.

Much of the hotel tower had been enclosed — in large part with reflective glass panels — as of late March, and the resort’s agave plant logo, spanning 18 feet tall and 42 feet wide, is now installed at the top of the building, facing north toward the 215 Beltway.

The $750 million project on Durango Drive just south of the Beltway, near Ikea, is slated to include 200-plus hotel rooms; several food-and-beverage outlets, including the “Eat Your Heart Out” food hall; and meeting and convention space.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.