Daniel S.
Yelp
On April 4th, 2016; the Park debuted on the Las Vegas Strip. The Park is a 2-acre shady oasis joining NY-NY, T-Mobile Arena, and Monte Carlo that will soon be rebranded and renamed in June (https://m.lasvegassun.com/vegasdeluxe/2016/jan/04/monte-carlo-rebranding-draws-celebrity-chiefs-stri/ ).
After months of watching the progress on the Park and T-Mobile Arena project, I finally got to expore it yesterday. When I visited the Park, it was an incomplete Park. At the time of my walk in the park, its northern border at the transitioning Monte Carlo was a construction site. Hammering was the soundtrack noise and will remain so until the Monte Carlo project is complete. Once the construction is done and the Monte Carlo is renamed and rebranded, the Park will be the soundtrack of chirping birds.
The Park is the Gateway to the T-Mobile Arena. It is a pedestrian space similar to the Linq. The difference is that one connects to a ferris wheel and the other to a 20,000 seat arena.
The Park captures the architecture of the Arena from the distant vista at the Las Vegas Strip entrance to the close-up at end of the park. The Park also captures the architecture of New York City. When I glanced up toward the cotton candy clouds the Empire State Building and New York skyline towered above. Near the T-Mobile Arena end of the Park, the gardens of prickly pear and bravertail cacti make a nice garden spot to sit in the shade and take in New York City.
This is a visual extension of NY-NY. The 2-acre oasis resembles a New York City plaza more than Central Park. The T-Mobile Arena reminds me of Madison Square Garden. The Monte Carlo could be any ordinary high rise in New York City. It is fitting that they renamed Monte Carlo Drive to Park Avenue.
Inside the Park, the cement plaza is interspersed with around 75 trees, xeoroscaped gardens, shade structures, tables, and water structures. Public art also adorns the landscape. The landmark is the Bliss Dance sculpture, which is a towering woman in the nude. This is the prime picture taking spot in the Park. The Bliss Dance stands in the shadow of the T-Mobile Arena.
There are a couple of restaurants and zero shops adorning the Park. There is no comparison to what the Linq offers. All the restaurants are on the NY-NY side. Currently on the Monte Carlo side there is Park Avenue and the construction site. As soon as I stepped off the Strip into the Park, there was Shake Shack. As I walked deeper, my eyes took in Brixie Chicken & Waffles, Beer haus, California Pizza Kitchen, Sake Rak, and additional entrance to NY-NY. For the record, Beer haus has the honor of being the first beer hall on the Las Vegas Strip.
As far as atmosphere, MGM the owner of the Park is adamant about keeping it clean. The con artists, beggars, costume characters, and riff raff are unwelcome. I noticed a lot of alert security guards patrolling the grounds. I am optimistic that this is going to be a safe resting place.
The Park came at the end of the era. At the time of this writing the neighboring NY-NY and Monte Carlo (until June) are charging to park. The latest I hear is that on T-Mobile event nights from 4 to 11 it is $20 to park and there is an online discount that brings it to $10. The joke is that this is the (Pay to) Park.
Just like the Las Vegas Strip, the Park is in a state of transition. In this incomplete state where the Monte Carlo side is a construction site, I Park a three star rating on the newest attraction adorning the Las Vegas Strip.