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Hard Rock shutting down The Mirage in July for renovations

| By Jill R. Dorson
On Wednesday (15 May) Hard Rock International announced that it will shut down The Mirage Hotel & Casino on 17 July for renovations. HRI said that it will develop a new integrated resort featuring a 700ft version of Hard Rock's iconic guitar-shaped hotel tower.
mirage tower shut down

The final day for hotel occupancy will be 14 July. The Mirage’s well-known volcano is set for destruction, although no date has been announced. While HRI is shutting down The Mirage during the rebranding, the hotel tower will remain open, according to 2News Nevada.

Hotel and show reservations beyond 14 July will automatically be cancelled and refunded.

The Mirage first opened in November 1989 and was Steve Wynn’s first project on The Strip. The complex covers 65 acres and, in its current configuration, has 3,044 guest rooms. Wynn has not been involved in The Mirage since 2000, when he sold Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand before going on to form Wynn Resorts in 2002. HRI took over the property in 2022. Owned by Florida’s Seminole tribe, the complex is the first operated by a tribe on the Strip.

HRI previously pointed to the renovation beginning some time in 2024. Hard Rock’s new hotel tower and other buildings will cover nearly 1.44 million sq ft. The new tower will have 600 guest rooms on 37 floors. The existing Mirage hotel tower has 31 floors.

Strip undergoing an evolution

“We’d like to thank the Las Vegas community and team members for warmly welcoming Hard Rock after 34 years at the Mirage,” HRI CEO Jim Allen said via release. “We’d also like to thank the Unions, community leaders, local and state government organisations and the Gaming Commission for their support and fair negotiations over the past year.”

Since purchasing the property in 2022, HRI has jumped into being involved in Las Vegas. Last year, it became a presenting partner of the November 2023 Formula 1 event. As such, it had a 3,000-seat grandstand in front of the hotel. The complex also hosted educational, hospitality and other events to fans.

Shutting down The Mirage will be the latest change to the ever-evolving Strip and environs. The cutting-edge music venue, the Sphere, opened one block off the Strip on 29 September 2023. The Fontainebleau Las Vegas opened last December, and Resorts World opened in 2021.

At the other end of the Strip, the Tropicana closed last month and there are plans to demolish it, possibly in October. A $1.5bn professional baseball park and a Bally’s casino resort are planned for the site. The ballpark is expected to be completed in 2028, with no timeline yet given for the Bally’s project.

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