Project Neon’s improvements helps Stevens’ properties like the D Las Vegas, Circa Resort, and the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.
The $1 billion Project Neon nears completion a full two months ahead of schedule. Derek Stevens, one of the casino owners who stands to gain from the plan to transform Downtown Las Vegas, is excited about the positive change Project Neon represents.
Stevens told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “With the design and what they’ve done, I think we really upgraded the transportation scenario in downtown Las Vegas.”
The project widened Interstate 15 and improved the access roads and exit ramps on-and-off the interstate. The development also improved access to the Grand Central Parkway.
Project Neon caused traffic disruptions in the meantime, but it’s positioned to pay off in the coming months.
Project Neon Completes Before Summer
With Project Neon’s completion ending prior to the summer months, Las Vegas’s downtown casinos should see increased business in the most lucrative part of the year. Summer tourists who wander off the Vegas Strip should enjoy the increased access.
Derek Stevens believes completion two months before the projected end date is key. He said, “It’s right in line for the start of the summer season. Traffic and the flow and the ingress-egress is so critical to all the businesses here, and we’re very fired up about it. Everybody is just excited to reap the benefits.”
Helps Traffic to Events Center
Stevens and his brother, Greg, own the D Las Vegas, as well as the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. The events center is one of a number of venues which depends so much on smooth traffic flow.
The center hosts Las Vegas Golden Knights watching parties, but also a number of live shows and concerts. One of the first events to be held post-Project Neon is the Punk Rock Bowling music festival, an annual three-day event which runs this year between May 24 and May 27.
Boosts Traffic to Circa Resort
For Derek and Greg Stevens, Project Neon helps a third project: Circa Resort. The brothers are developing the Circa Hotel on Main Street and Ogden Avenue near the Grand Central Parkway.
Circa is the first ground-up downtown resort to be built in Las Vegas in 30 years. Once opened, Circa will provide a resort near to the Fremont Street Experience. Due to the work by the city and the Stevens Brothers vision, it’s an exciting time for downtown Las Vegas.
About Derek Stephens
Derek Stephens might not be as flashy as some of the casino moguls who operate on the Las Vegas Strip. He might not have the sweeping authority and national respect that Sheldon Adelson has. Stephens might not involve himself in international casino development the way Vegas Strip CEOs do. Yet Derek Stephens is a skillful marketer of his properties, and he’s built a solid reputation away from the Vegas Strip.
Downtown Las Vegas casino owners are a different breed. They play a different game than Vegas Strip executives, wooing local gamblers and dedicated players. Quietly — or as quietly as it sensible in a place like Las Vegas — the Stephens brothers are building a gaming and leisure empire in downtown Las Vegas.
