After an absence of several years, Wet N’ Wild is now returning to Las Vegas. Unlike the original water park, which was located on the north end of the Strip, the new location is on the south side of the city by the 215 beltway and Fort Apache. The largest water park in Nevada will feature 25 attractions including water slides, tube rides, a wave pool, a lazy river, and a children’s area.
Although the scorching summers would appear to make Las Vegas the perfect location for a water park, the city has not had a full-scale public water attraction since the first Wet N’ Wild closed its door in 2004 after 20 years in business. The delay in developing a new park to take its place appears to lie mainly with the difficulty in obtaining water rights in the Las Vegas valley. In the harsh Las Vegas desert, water rights are one of the most coveted, and expensive, commodities.
Ultimately, a joint venture featuring funding from notable sources like Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Dr. Steven and Karen Thomas of the Thomas and Mack family, and Australian entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow Ltd. were able to raise the more than $50 million needed to develop the park. The Howard Hughes Corporation will provide the lease for the land on which the park is strategically placed.
We certainly view this new major development as another sign that business as usual is returning to normal in the Las Vegas area. Las Vegas has historically boasted a high growth rate because of its diverse employment opportunities generated by the ever-increasing numbers of tourists visiting the town each year. Rental housing continues to be a great investment in Las Vegas with historically high cash flow spreads.
Wet N’ Wild is scheduled to open Memorial Weekend 2013.
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