Tuesday, July 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
A recreation facility with golf, baseball, roller hockey and Go Kart amenities will move south on the Las Vegas Strip to a 65-acre site near McCarran International Airport.
Ron Boreta, president and CEO of the St. Andrews Golf Corp., which operates 51 Las Vegas Discount Golf & Tennis stores in 19 states, signed a long-term lease to build the All-American SportPark on a site north of the Las Vegas Beltway, south of Russell Road on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard. Boreta would not specify the exact location of the lot, but said construction would begin on the park within three months. The park is expected to open next year.
The facility originally was to be located on the Strip at Sahara Avenue. St. Andrews had leveled the ground and begun preliminary foundation work when its lease was broken by the sale of the property by the Howard Hughes Corp. to William Bennett and the Sahara hotel-casino. The property has since been sold by Bennett to another buyer.
Boreta said while the shuffling has slowed construction of the park -- billed as a flagship property for other similar developments -- the larger lot will give the company the opportunity to do more.
St. Andrews already has secured licensing agreements with Major League Baseball, Calloway and NASCAR to develop the baseball, golf and auto-racing themes at the park. The company is negotiating with a number of tenants and corporate sponsors.
Planned attractions for the $20 million project include a driving range, a pro shop-clubhouse, a training and custom club-fitting center, a par 3 golf course; a 27-hole putting course; a NASCAR SpeedPark; a Major League Baseball Slugger Stadium, an All-American SportPark Pavilion & Arena; and an "off-ice" hockey complex.
Other attractions include a food court, a sports bar and grill, a sporting goods retail store, specialty retail areas, special events space and a number of leased tenant facilities.
The baseball facility will offer a re-creation of features from Major League Baseball parks. The Las Vegas version will have depictions of the Green Monster from Boston's Fenway Park and the scoreboard from Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.
St. Andrews officials have said the SportPark concept is being marketed to other locations nationwide and that baseball stadium re-creations will be built near existing ballparks.
"The large 65 acres allows the company to develop a truly flagship All-American SportPark which showcases most of the innovative sports entertainment attractions it has been developing during the past two years," said Boretta. "It is a premiere location in the tourist capital of America and the fastest-growing city in the country."
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