Strip visitors can see uncommon attractions
This is not a dream. This is Las Vegas.
Here, in an afternoon, you can sign a professional sports contract, see a Babe Ruth game-worn jersey and watch as your short-lived career (it’ll last about an hour) dries up from too much partying. Then, you can move on to sniper training.
This fall, the Strip and its immediate cousin, Industrial Road, are welcoming new blood to the family in the form of permanent tourist attractions not commonly found on the Strip. Soon to open are: Score! Be the Legend at the Luxor, the Strip Gun Club at 2233 Las Vegas Blvd. South and Battlefield Las Vegas at 2771 Industrial Road. Also worth mentioning is Eli Roth’s Goretorium inside Harmon Corner that unveiled its horrors to the public Thursday.
And these attractions are opening during what may turn out to be a busy travel season for the city.
A recent Orbitz survey found 69 percent of respondents prefer fall travel over summer, citing milder temperatures, fewer crowds and cheaper prices as the primary reasons. The top spots for travelers to head this fall are Las Vegas, New York and Chicago, according to the study. Sin City’s spot at No. 1 is driven by budget-friendly hotel rates of $105 per night and the busy college football and National Football League seasons in the sports books.
The top 10 fall travel destinations are based on Orbitz.com hotel bookings for travel from Sept. 4–Nov. 20, booked as of Sept. 4.
“Las Vegas continues to reinvent itself to make sure the experience is always fresh and new,” said Kevin Bagger, senior director of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “This year alone, our partners are investing $3.6 billion into new amenities and attractions. Every new experience adds to the number of reasons for visitors to come to Las Vegas.”
With that in mind, here’s a look at what’s opening in October.
SPORTS WITH PERSONAL TOUCH
With a 10,000-square-foot space inside the Luxor, Score! is a sports exhibition featuring game-worn memorabilia from franchises in pro and college football, college and pro basketball, hockey, boxing and U.S. Soccer. CEO Jim Beckmann said the personalized sports fan experience is “more about you, the fan, than what you’re about to see.”
But whatever does he mean?
Visitors, upon entering and paying the $20-$28 entry fee, are ushered into an agent’s office where a multi-million dollar contract is signed with the sports team of your choosing. Yankees fan? You’re now on the team with Jeter.
Guests then post a press release to Facebook and Twitter announcing their big deal, are handed an iTouch to start their tour and then are free to run through the players’ tunnel.
While walking through the exhibition, questions pop up on your borrowed iTouch, ranging from endorsement deal offers to Hollywood party invites. How you answer the questions determines what path your career takes.
“Every time you come back here your experience can be new and unique and different,” Beckmann said. “You can do as much or as little as you want.”
Beckmann noted the exhibit will have “Smithsonian-quality presentations,” such as a showcase highlighting the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and a Yankees section featuring jerseys from Derek Jeter, Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. Hands-on activities are interspersed throughout, such as hockey stick-handling exercises, a NASCAR pit stop challenge and a pitching cage with a speed gun.
GUNS GALORE
Traveling north on the Strip, wandering tourists soon will find the Strip Gun Club, which is slated to open in mid-October. Justin Michaels, Ric Truesdell and Brian Barson are opening the 4,500-square-foot machine gun shooting range just north of Sahara.
Michaels acknowledged that other, similar ranges have opened recently – Machine Guns Vegas and Machine Guns 4 Fun come to mind – but said, “Competition is a good thing.”
The Strip Gun Club will feature unique touches such as an antique vault door and a shipping container stood on end to help make itself stand out from the other ranges. But, Michaels said the group isn’t worried about the range’s tourist appeal. He’s positive it will attract strong traffic.
“There are parts of the world where you can’t shoot a gun or it’s highly restricted,” Michaels said.
Just off the Strip is Battlefield Vegas, which bills itself as “the ultimate shooting experience.” It opened Monday . The machine gun range has a heavy military focus with helicopters, tanks and sandbags outside. Inside, visitors can shoot zombies or go for a more traditional range experience.
Range 702, yet another shooting range, is slated to open at 4699 Dean Martin Drive on Oct. 11. The facility features an on-site restaurant, store, onsite gunsmith and armory.
And then there’s Eli Roth’s Goretorium, which opened Thursday at Harmon Corner. Advance tickets cost $35, or gore enthusiasts can purchase them on-site for $40. Expect lots of blood, Roth style.
Contact reporter Laura Carroll at lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588.
