The shuttered Riviera took another small step toward its eventual demolition today.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s board of directors approved a $475,000 contract with KGA Architecture to develop documents that will help the authority prepare to demolish the 60-year old hotel-casino and turn it into outdoor exhibit space. The authority bought the Riviera earlier this year for $182.5 million and plans to eventually build a new convention facility there, but will use it for outdoor exhibit space until construction gets under way.
Terry Jicinsky, the authority’s senior vice president of operations, said KGA will evaluate the conditions of the Riviera site and then create documents that give potential contractors an idea of what is required to demolish the buildings. He said it will take about 60 to 90 days for KGA to complete its work; then the authority will use those documents to publicly solicit bids for demolition.
KGA is also contracted to create similar documents for required work on the site after demolition, namely preparing it to be a parking area and outdoor exhibit space, according to the authority.
The authority has already budgeted for this part of the Riviera-convention center project, Jicinsky said.
It’s still not clear exactly when the Riviera will be taken down, but authority staff members have said previously the site needs to be ready for use as outdoor exhibit space by early 2017. A major trade show, Conexpo-Con/Agg, needs to use the area then.
It’s also not clear yet exactly when construction on the new convention facility will begin. That part of the project and funding for it will be influenced by the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee, which is examining the region’s needs for new or improved tourism-related facilities. The committee will submit a report to the governor next summer.