Casino to welcome equestrians with the accommodations
By ANGIE PARKINSON VIEW STAFF WRITER
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Sprawling hotels open periodically in Las Vegas but none of them have had deluxe accommodations for horses as well as for humans -- until now. The horse world is all abuzz with talk of the equestrian center attached to the new South Coast Casino, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South, which opened its doors, Dec. 22.
"I get 30 calls a day asking when we're going to be open," said Tim Lanier, general manager of the equestrian center.
The 4,400-seat arena features 1,200 horse stalls in a climate controlled area. There also is a veterinarian clinic, farrier center, feed store, offices and 25 horse washing bays. Horses can warm up without getting overheated in a climate-controlled warm-up arena.
The center represents a $60 million investment but Lanier expects it will pay off.
"It's just a different facility to attract a different type of customer," he said.
The horse enthusiast is a higher-income type of consumer. Lanier said the average income among them is about $175,000 annually and they have a net worth of about $1.5 million. When they come to South Coast the management team is predicting they will spend quite a bit of money.
In 2006 his staff already has booked about 25-28 weeks of business at the equestrian center. Lanier's goal is to book up to 45 weeks a year by 2008. There will be about 800 horses at the facility each week that it is booked. An average of 3.1 people travel with each horse to any given event and many of those people will likely be staying at the hotel, eating at the restaurants and hitting the gaming tables.
Many horse shows around the country are booked on five- to 10-year contracts and Lanier is expecting to win some of those shows for South Coast when their contracts run out with other facilities. Lanier said the facility also will be appropriate for other types of events like motocross and concerts.
Finding a way to keep the horses safe from soaring Las Vegas summer temperatures was essential to making the equestrian center attractive to horse enthusiasts.
"When it's 115 degrees outside we'll be able to keep it about 80 degrees down here," said Lanier of the horse stall facilities attached to the arena.
A National Cutting Horse Association event is booked for Feb. 24 so the center is expected to open around that time.
Aside from the equestrian center, the $600 million resort features a 16-screen Century Theatre complex, an 80,000-square-foot casino, a 64-lane bowling center and an expansive meeting and convention center.
Maureen Robinson, director of convention sales at South Coast, said the convention center is expected to draw in corporate customers.
"The fact that we are on the second floor you don't feel like you are in a casino, corporate business loves that," Robinson said.
A 22,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom with its own stage can accommodate groups of up to 2,000. Two adjacent ballrooms have a total of 21,000 square feet. Robinson was especially excited about the 80,000-square-foot exhibition hall, which is column-free. It's expected to be extremely versatile with its location adjacent to the arena. Equestrian events can book related trade shows while corporate groups are using other sections of the exhibit hall for separate events.
"It allows us to book a lot of different market mixes in the hotel," Robinson said.
The convention center, like the overall resort, has features reminiscent of California. Conference rooms are named Sonoma, Napa, Newport, Balboa, Huntington, Laguna and Monarch.
The resort also features nine distinct restaurants -- Silverado Steak House, Don Vito's Italian Restaurant, Garden Buffet, Cornado Cafe, Baja Miguel's, Big Sur Oyster Bar, Deli at South Coast, Kate's Korner and Seattle's Best.
Kate's Korner, an old fashioned ice cream parlor, was named for Katie Gaughan, daughter of Coast Casino founder Michael Gaughan. The picture on the logo was designed using a photo of Katie as a child.
The glittering resort, with windows that are made with 24-carat gold, has 1,350 guest rooms with the top floor comprised entirely of suites. Each room has a 42-inch plasma screen television and high-speed or wireless Internet connection. A second hotel tower, set to open in the second quarter of 2006, will include an additional 700 guest rooms and suites. A 20,000-square-foot spa and large, lagoon-style pool and volleyball area also will open at that time.
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