Marnell Gaming, owner of the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks, Nevada officially announced construction of a brand new entertainment and event amphitheater across from the Nugget, on the former Bourbon Square site.
The new event center will feature seating for more than 8,500 guests and expected project completion is June, 2019. The facility was approved by unanimous vote of the Sparks Planning Commission January 3.
“This new amphitheater is another step in Marnell Gaming’s commitment to reinvest not only in the Nugget, but downtown Sparks,” said Anthony Marnell III. “It will give the Nugget the ability to bring even more top name entertainment to Sparks for locals and visitors to enjoy.”
The Nugget has booked Country superstar Toby Keith to perform as the first act in the new center June 15, 2019. Hank Williams, Jr. is scheduled to perform August 3 followed by Lady Antebellum, August 17. More “A” list acts are expected to book soon. Tickets for the acts will be announced and available on the Nugget’s website pending final confirmation.
Marnell Gaming built a similar project, the Laughlin Event Center, in southern Nevada, adjacent to two hotel casinos formerly owned by the company, the Colorado Belle and Edgewater. “We saw great, positive impacts with the Laughlin Event Center and look forward to excellent results in Sparks,” Marnell said.
The Nugget Event Center is the latest project by Marnell Gaming, which has already invested more than $50 million in property-wide upgrades and renovations at the Nugget, including a complete remodeling of the Resort west tower hotel rooms, convention center, casino, atrium pool, fitness center and the new Game On restaurant.
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The space in Victorian Square that used be Silver Club and, most recently, the Bourbon Square Casino, will soon be an outdoor concert venue. The amphitheater will seat more than 8,500 people and can be used year-round.
"We'll use it during the summertime for some really great concerts to bring to the community, and outside of that I think there will be all kinds of uses that could come to it," said Anthony A. Marnell III, CEO of Marnell Gaming, LLC. "In Laughlin we've got 5,000 seats in the stadium and 4,000 on the floor. When you take the seats off the floor you can do skate parks, ice skating rinks, rodeo; we've done all those things."
Marnell Gaming, the company that owns The Nugget, pitched the idea to the Sparks Planning Commission in December. But there were some concerns about noise, access and safety. A trip back to the drawing board moved the stage, changed the fencing and further defined lighting and security measures. The permit passed unanimously Thursday night.
"I think everybody's going to win in this deal; everyone is going to benefit," Marnell said. "I think there might be some people that are not totally happy with it, but from what I've heard and the comments we received from the community, people are excited. There are not many places you can look out your apartment window, stand on your balcony and be a hundred feet away from A-plus entertainment and I think it'll bring energy to the area."
The venue will be used for up to ten big events per year, and in connection with existing events like the Rib Cook-Off and Hot August Nights.
"It's going to be fun," Marnell said. "We've done it before in another part of the state and it's a great economic driver. It's safe, its fun and I think people will enjoy it being so close to them, right in their backyard."
(Nugget Casino Resort contributed to this report.)
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