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/Travel
LasVegas
It’sNo
Mirage
Sin City’s surprising
new green space
BY D O N N I C H O L S
W
the Las Vegas
Strip, the last thing you’d expect to see
is an inviting 3-acre park with 200-plus
mature trees and eye-catching, creative sculptures
soaring high into the sky. But that’s exactly what
you’ll now see nestled between the New York-New
York and Monte Carlo resorts.
In April, MGM Resorts International unveiled
this unexpected, $100 million respite it simply
calls the Park. “Great cities have great parks
where people can make friends, be with friends,
and chill out. Las Vegas needed such a gathering
place,” says Jim Murren, the company’s chairman
and CEO.
Besides the many trees, native and desert-
adaptive plants that provide year-round color
share the acreage with striking art pieces such as
Bliss Dance, a 40-foot-tall sculpture of a dancing
woman made of mesh stainless steel. Sixteen
metal structures — ranging from 55 to 75 feet tall —
clustered throughout the park provide shade
There’s More …
Two days after the Park’s
opening, MGM cut the
ribbon on another ambitious
project adjacent to the green
space: the $375 million
T-Mobile Arena, built as
a joint venture with AEG
Worldwide. With 20,000
seats, the sports and
entertainment venue boasts
the city’s largest arena
capacity. Among the big-
name acts already booked
are Garth Brooks, Coldplay,
and Carrie Underwood. Do
duck into the 18,000-square-
foot Hyde Lounge on the
top level for stellar views,
cocktails, and gourmet
small plates and entrees.
t-mobilearena.com
Dining News
Four new Vegas
restaurants you need
to know about …
AttheAria:The hotel now
plays host to the Vegas
outpost of New York’s wildly
popular Carbone, which
resurrects its version of
the New York-style Italian-
American dining experience
from the 1950s. Among the
don’t-miss dishes: Lobster Fra
Diavolo and Veal Parmesan.
877-230-2742; aria.com
Bellagio:Savor New
American dishes at Harvest
by Roy Ellamar, where the
Hawaii-born chef prepares
seasonal flavors using the
freshest local ingredients
sourced from regional farms.
702-693-8865; bellagio.com
Cosmopolitan:Another
dining sensation from the Big
Apple opened at this hotel
in May. At Beauty Essex,
a lounge and restaurant
from the TAO Group and
chef Chris Santos, the
menu features multiethnic
dishes from the New York
location, as well as classics
from the chef’s first Gotham
City restaurant, the Stanton
Social. 702-737-0707;
cosmopolitanlasvegas.com
Delano:Its top-floor Alain
Ducasse restaurant has
reopened as Rivea, with
the kitchen putting emphasis
on simpler Mediterranean
dishes, such as “John
Dory baked like on
the Riviera,” artisanal
linguine and clams,
and roasted duck
breast. Says Sebastien
Vallet, the restaurant’s
general manager:
“We’re focusing on
simple cooking like we do in
Southern France. No more
heavy stocks and sauces.”
Pre- or post-dinner, make
some toasts at the adjoining
Skyfall Lounge. It has been
revamped to have less of a
party-club scene and more
of a lounge atmosphere,
making it more conducive
to visiting with friends
while taking in hard-to-beat
Strip views. 877-632-5400;
delanolasvegas.com
during the day but also double as art, having been
designed to resemble cactus blooms that are lit
various colors at night. Another way to cool off in
the heat: Meander down the walkway between
two 8-foot-tall, 100-foot-long water walls inspired
by the Nevada desert’s natural springs.
Remember, you are in Vegas, so this new park
also comes with a variety of restaurants and
bars — all casual to midlevel, nothing highbrow
here, and most with outdoor seating. At the lively
Beerhaus, quench your thirst with local and
regional craft beers or draft cocktails and bite
into rotisserie sandwiches or
sausages served on Parker
House rolls. To add to your
dining fun, challenge friends
to foosball, pingpong, or shuffleboard.
Not hungry? You can still rest your feet at one of
the many seating areas throughout the park. They
make good vantage points for people-watching and
enjoying performance artists. theparkvegas.com
PARK ART:
The 40-foot Bliss
Dance sculpture and
other works light
up the Park. In the
background, the new
T-Mobile Arena.
Rivea
Beauty Essex