For Steve Stallworth, indoor water show is just the latest splashy move at South Point

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, May 21, 2011 | 11:51 a.m.

Before we get to how 600,000 gallons of water has been poured onto a facility floor usually covered in dirt at South Point Arena, let’s talk of a lunch I had one day in April 1996.

I had lived in Las Vegas fewer than 24 hours. This lunch involved a friend of mine I’d known almost primarily on the phone, a rising PR pro and recently transplanted sports writer new to Vegas named Dave Kirvin. The other gentleman was someone Dave said I needed to know if I wanted to learn anything about Las Vegas, a former UNLV quarterback and a member of the school’s sports marketing team, Steve Stallworth.

We met at Macaroni Grill on West Sahara, just across the street from the fabulous Palace Station. Much of the conversation centered on how to cover a city that was sprouting subdivisions like weeds and was about to implode one of its most famous hotels, the Sands, in favor of a massive mega-resort boom all across the Strip.

We also talked about where I might find a new bed, and Steve “Strip” Stallworth -- that’s his nickname, of course -- suggested Walker Furniture. Dave also said something that day that I’ve not forgotten: Always expect the unexpected in Las Vegas.

We move along, 15 years, and there we were again, Stallworth now the arena director for South Point owner Michael Gaughan and Kirvin, long an owner of Kirvin Doak Communications, one of the city’s top PR firms who is helping promote the H2X Indoor Jet Ski Racing and Water Sport Thrill Show that was held over the weekend at South Point.

I walked into the South Point Arena and met with Kirvin and said, “I believe we have seen it all.” Looking out at what seems to be the world’s largest adobe pool, filled with 3 ½ feet of reclaimable water, as one of the competitors splashed about, it was difficult to argue.

How’d this happen? Because Stallworth is always eager to expand the scope of South Point Arena, which was opened as South Point Equestrian Center but offers a versatility far beyond equine competition. Stallworth has been talking with event promoter Tony “Grinder” Dwyer, a mischievous entrepreneur who has been staging these sorts of water shows in Europe since the late 1990s, starting in the Parisian suburb of Burcy in 1999.

Stallworth initially considered bringing the show to Orleans Arena when he was arena director for the Boyd Gaming-owned facility. Not a great idea, as Orleans Arena is fairly busy with ice shows (well, the Wranglers), occasional hoops and many shows. But South Point was worth a shot, with all sides buying into the concept.

“This is typically tough to hold outside,” Grinder said. “It’s windy, you have the sun beating down on you. This is a really comfortable environment.”

Still, Grinder is seeking other venues indoor and out, including the Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium, to make the show an aquatic answer to the supercross motorcycle events held at Sam Boyd.

Stallworth says he’d like to make it an annual showcase at South Point. Before the event, he said that audiences of 2,500 each night would be terrific. It fell short of that, with 1,200 on the first night and 1,500 the second.

"It's too bad we didn't draw better," Stallworth said Monday in a follow-up interview. "The people who didn't show up missed some great entertainment.

The time and energy spent on this year’s event was substantial: Twenty-four man-hours from laying down the rubber bladder to the filling of the giant pool. That process will be made more seamless, so to speak, next year.

The water show is the latest innovative event at the South Point. Stallworth has already booked indoor bullfighting. A jousting competition, polo, and maybe even a wintertime wave runner event is in the offing by the end of the year.

"We'll consider almost any event," Stallworth says. When I suggested jai alai, which was popular at the old MGM Grand (now Bally's) he noted that South Point President Ryan Growney once staged such events before signing on with the hotel, so it seems even that sport is in play.

As Stallworth looked out at one of the competitors cutting across the temporary pond that had overtaken South Point Arena, he just smiled.

“Can you believe this?” he asked.

Somehow, I can. We were prepared a long time ago for this.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow "Kats With the Dish" at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.