Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada announced the greater investment of private capital in the history of the city. The funds will add an athletic field, an entertainment district and likely more hotel rooms to the 140-acre property.
Over the next decade, the existing Grand Sierra Resort and Casino will receive a $1 billion investment, including a new 10,000-seat sports arena, golf facility and 300 waterfront residential units. An 800-room hotel tower is also being evaluated for the site.
The arena will be the “centerpiece” of the project, Grand Sierra Resort said in a statement. Once completed, the sports facility will span approximately 300,000 square feet and offer premium hospitality suites and clubs.
The resort is exploring a partnership with the Nevada men’s basketball team to make the arena its home, although the resort could also be used for concerts and other sporting events, Grand Sierra Resort said.
The arena will be the first of its kind in Reno, attracting A-list stars to its arena, Andrew Diss, chief strategy officer of Meruelo Gaming, which operates Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, told Hotel Dive.
The development plan also includes an entertainment district with a ride and water show similar to the one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Diss said.
Diss expects an increase in tourism to Reno because of the project, with more people coming to see special events and concerts from around the country than before. According to Diss, Grand Sierra Resort and Casino primarily sees guests from Northern California, but he expects the development to attract travelers from all markets who have a direct flight to Reno.
Other hoteliers in the city, Diss shared, agree that tourism will likely increase and anticipate increased occupancy from the project.
“Before we made our public announcement, we gave the other one [hotel operators] in our market, someone says, “Hey, this is what’s coming,” and when he was describing the size of the arena, one of the other hotels [operators] said, ‘Oh, we’re going to get rooms from what you’re building. Let’s do it. How can we help you?'” Diss said.
“We just won’t be able to accommodate everyone who might come to the new venue to see a show, so there will be an elevator for all the other hotel operators here in Reno,” he added.
To accommodate this projected increase in travelers, Grand Sierra Resort could build a new hotel tower, adding to the property’s existing 2,000 rooms and suites. The tower, Diss said, isn’t set in stone yet, and the resort will assess whether it’s financially viable once other aspects of the project are finished, likely in six years or more. If it is built, it will be during the final phase of the project, Diss said.
The full project is expected to take nearly a decade. Architecture and planning firm Gensler is now working on the initial stages, and ground will likely be officially broken in the fall of 2024, Diss said.
