Showcase Mall
Shopping mall in Nevada, U.S. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Showcase Mall is a shopping center on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is known for its landmark facade, featuring a 100-foot (30 m) tall Coca-Cola bottle and a colossal bag of M&M's.[1][2]
![]() The mall's facade as seen in 2009 | |
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Location | Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 36.10342°N 115.17236°W |
Address | 3785 South Las Vegas Boulevard |
Opening date | December 15, 1996 |
No. of floors | 4 |
History
Summarize
Perspective

After the 1989 announcement of plans for the MGM Grand hotel and casino,[3] attorney Bob Unger recognized the investment potential of an adjacent property where he was handling an eviction case.[4] Unger approached his friend, banker Barry Fieldman, for financing, and the two partnered to form Makena Development Corp. in 1992.[4][5] Makena purchased Island Plaza, a small shopping center on the site that would become the southern part of Showcase Mall.[5] They then beat out MGM in an effort to purchase two gas stations to the north of Island Plaza.[4][5]
Forest City Enterprises, a national real estate developer with interests in Las Vegas including the Galleria at Sunset mall, signed on to provide additional funding and expertise to the project,[5] taking a 20% ownership stake.[6]
The first business at the mall, the Official All Star Cafe, opened on December 15, 1996.[7] An eight-screen United Artists Theater opened in March 1997.[8]
Island Plaza was demolished in 1999 to make way for the second phase of Showcase Mall,[9] with 43,000 square feet (4,000 m2) of retail space and a $33-million budget.[10] The second phase, south of the original building, opened in 2000, featuring a gift shop with an interior designed to resemble the Grand Canyon.[11][12]
North of the original portion of the mall, a parcel occupied by a Denny's restaurant was earmarked for a third phase of construction. In 2003, Westgate Resorts announced a $180-million plan to build a 54-story tower with over 700 timeshare units on the Denny's site.[13][14] Facing strong opposition from MGM Grand and concerns from county officials about the size of the project,[15] the plan was scaled back to 42 stories,[16] but was ultimately rejected by the Clark County Commission.[17]
In 2005, the developers sold the first phase of the mall for $142 million, to a partnership of San Francisco-based City Center Retail and New York investment firm Angelo Gordon & Co.[18] The buyers also spent $30 million to acquire a leasehold interest in the Denny's site.[19]
The mall's third phase was built in 2009 with 97,400 square feet of space, anchored by a Hard Rock Cafe and a Ross Dress For Less store.[20] The City Center / Angelo Gordon partnership sold this portion of the mall in 2011 to Unilev Capital Corp., a California real estate investment company, for $93.5 million.[20]
In July 2014, City Center and Angelo Gordon sold the original center section of the mall for $145 million to a partnership between the Nakash family (founders of Jordache) and investor Eli Gindi.[21] The Nakashes and Gindi, along with home-curtains manufacturer Elyahu Cohen, then purchased the third, northern section of the mall from Unilev Capital for $139.5 million in January 2015.[22] The Nakashes and Gindi consolidated their control of the mall in December 2015, buying the southern portion from Fieldman for $82.9 million.[23]
A planned expansion of the mall was approved in September 2017. Earlier in the year, the Nakashes and Gindi had paid $59.5 million to purchase a building to the north of the mall, which had previously housed the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse. Plans called for the building to be demolished and replaced with a new four-story, 145,000-square-foot (13,500 m2) building.[24] It would be anchored by Target and Burlington department stores.[25][26] Both stores opened in 2020 in the new building.
Notable tenants

- Adidas Performance Center — A three-story store selling sports apparel.[27] Opened in 2004.[28]
- Aerie — A two-story lingerie store, opened in 2018.[29]
- BrewDog — A 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m2) rooftop brewpub, the largest location in the international chain.[30] Opened in 2022 in the mall's fourth phase, at a cost of $17 million.[31][32]
- Burlington — A 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m2) discount department store. Opened in 2020 in the mall's fourth phase.[33][34][35]
- Coca-Cola Store — A two-story gift shop. Opened in 1997 as the World of Coca-Cola, a four-story facility, with the upper two floors containing a museum showcasing the history of Coca-Cola.[36] The museum portion closed in 2000.[12][37]
- FlyOver — A flying theater motion simulator attraction, located in the former movie theater space at the base of the mall's parking garage. Opened in 2021.[38][39]
- Food court — Opened in 2003 with nine fast-food outlets.[40][41]
- Hard Rock Cafe — A three-story facility including a restaurant, live music venue, and gift shop.[42] Opened in 2009.[42]
- Lids — A two-story, 12,000 sq ft (1,100 m2) flagship store, the largest location for the sports apparel chain, opened in 2022.[43]
- M&M's World — A four-story store selling M&M's candy and merchandise.[44] Opened in 1997.[45]
- Olive Garden — Italian restaurant, opened in 2021 on the third floor of the mall's fourth phase.[46][47]
- Raising Cane's — A two-story flagship location of the fast-food chicken finger chain, opened in 2022.[48][49]
- T-Mobile — A two-story flagship store for the mobile phone provider.[50][51] Opened in 2018.[50]
- Target — A 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m2) "small-format" location of the discount retail store chain. Opened in 2020 in the mall's fourth phase.[52]
Former tenants
- American Eagle — A two-story flagship store for the apparel retailer, opened in 2018.[29][53]
- Arcadia Earth — A 17,000-square-foot (1,600 m2) immersive art installation with an environmental theme, opened in 2022.[54][55][56]
- Designer Shoe Warehouse — A flagship store for the shoe retailer, in the mall's basement.[57][58] Opened in 2018.[59]
- GameWorks — A video arcade and restaurant. Opened in 1997 in a basement space now occupied by Marshalls.[60][61][62] Closed in 2012.[63][64]
- Grand Canyon Experience — A two-story gift shop built to resemble the Grand Canyon.[65] Opened in 2000 as part of the mall's second phase.[12] Closed in 2017.[66][67]
- Official All Star Cafe — A three-story theme restaurant featuring sports memorabilia. Opened in 1996.[68][69] Closed in 2000.[69][70]
- Tickets2Nite — A discount ticket broker located in the mall's atrium. Opened in 2002 as the first discount ticket outlet in Las Vegas, inspired by New York's TKTS booth.[71][72] Moved out by 2008.[73]
- United Artists Theaters — An eight-screen movie theater, located at the base of the mall's parking garage. Opened in 1997.[8] Closed in 2018.[74]
References
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