Skift Take
Bringing the local desert environment into the Strip is a smart evolution for the MGM Resorts' user experience because it creates a unique new social environment for the city.
MGM Resorts opened The Park this week on the Las Vegas Strip to answer growing demand for more outdoor social spaces from both leisure visitors and convention organizers.
The $100 million venue is located between MGM's Monte Carlo and New York-New York properties, right in front of the new 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena Las Vegas that opens today.
Skirting the edge of The Park, a string of varied casual restaurants open out into the peaceful desert landscaping. Dining options range from German sausage dogs at the industrial-style Beerhaus beer garden to waygu beef maki rolls at the loungey Sake Rok.
The two most striking elements are the 40-foot, steel mesh "Bliss Dance" sculpture depicting a fluid female form in mid-pirouette, and a series of modernist steel tree sculptures designed to provide shade over the winding promenade.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, MGM Resorts' CEO Jim Murren, and Clark County Commissioner Mary Beth Scow were among those who spoke at the ribbon cutting ceremony. All of them highlighted the venue's overarching mission to introduce visitors to Las Vegas' under-appreciated natural desert environment, but in a way t
