voyager15

By Sam Skolnik

Plans to give ‘Star Trek’ attraction a home in Vegas still alive.

The dream of bringing acquisitive Ferengi, scheming Romulans and combative Klingons to downtown Las Vegas — as if downtown weren’t colorful enough — is still alive.

According to the two primary players in the effort to import the “Star Trek: The Experience” attraction to the 250,000-square-foot mall called Neonopolis, the effort is still on track despite the dampened economy.

This is good news for both the city and Star Trek fans dismayed by the previous delay of the opening. The attraction had been slated to coincide with the May 8 premiere of the “Star Trek” movie, but was called off.

Rohit Joshi, the Neonopolis owner’s representative, said that was because CBS, which owns the rights to the Star Trek brand, didn’t think the plans were fully in place.

Joshi said he’s been working with several consultants to design the multi-tiered attraction, which could include more than one ride, a restaurant and bar, a Star Trek museum and possibly a Trek-themed nightclub.

Trek fans are unlike any other potential customers Joshi has dealt with, he said. It’s vital that all the details of a Star Trek attraction be as faithful to Trek history and lore as possible, he said.

“You have to be extremely knowledgeable to do this correctly,” Joshi said. “You don’t want to do something to upset the Trekkies.”

Though he’s optimistic about its prospects, Joshi declined to give a possible opening date, saying that fans planning trips to visit the attraction had been let down before and that he needed to respect them.

Neonopolis has a tough act to follow. The Star Trek attraction ended its 11-year run at the Las Vegas Hilton in September of last year. According to Joshi, it attracted more than 3.5 million visitors during its run.

Joshi didn’t say how much the attraction would cost to build at Neonopolis. But the attraction cost $100 million to build at the Hilton, he said: $80 million initially, and another $20 million for the Experience’s second phase.

Leslie Ryan, vice president of communications for CBS Television Distribution in Los Angeles, said the Neonopolis project “is still in development,” and that CBS did license the rights to the attraction to Joshi’s group.

It’s unclear how long that agreement with CBS will last before Joshi must move forward or lose the rights to the project. Ryan declined to comment on any other aspect of the deal. Joshi said the agreement was for the “long term,” but would not give specifics.

•••

In efforts to finance a new city hall, city officials have bandied about several funding mechanisms, including general obligation bonds and special certificates of participation, which are similar to bonds.

Now it appears the city is looking at using so-called “Build America Bonds” to finance the project, which could cost the city as much as $267 million.

At a recent news conference, Mayor Oscar Goodman said the project had been “looking bleak,” because the interest rates on the certificates were as high as 7.5 to 8 percent — too high.

But prospects have improved with the these Build America bonds, Goodman said.

According the Internal Revenue Service’s Web site, the recently implemented program — part of President Barack Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — “allows state and local governments to issue taxable bonds for capital projects and to receive a new direct federal subsidy payment from the Treasury Department for a portion of their borrowing costs.”

Top city officials Scott Adams and Mark Vincent are set to address the City Council on the new developments at the council’s Oct. 7 meeting. But no decisions will be made then.

According to city spokesman David Riggleman, the council likely won’t vote on whether to move forward on the city hall plan until November or December.

Vincent said the benefits of the Build America bonds are clear. The subsidy payments would save the city $82 million over 30 years, by current estimates. That would allow the interest rates to effectively be lowered to a much more affordable rate, he said.

Lienholder: Live long and pay up

By BENJAMIN SPILLMAN

LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

If only "Star Trek: The Experience" had been created in a holodeck, the Las Vegas Hilton might have avoided a construction lien.

Unfortunately the attraction was made from wood, plastic and other materials that cost money to remove, unlike the lifelike scenes generated by computer in the holodeck on the Enterprise, the spaceship in the science fiction television series, that appeared and disappeared instantly and on command.

The Las Vegas construction company that removed hardware from "Star Trek: The Experience" and restored the space has placed a lien against the Hilton over claims it wasn't paid for the work.

According to documents in district court in Clark County, Quality Choice Construction says it is owed nearly $523,000.

In two separate filings the company says Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., former operators of the attraction, and Rohit Joshi, the Neonopolis developer who intends to install the exhibit downtown, were supposed to pay for the project.

A lawyer for Quality Choice says the liens were placed against the Hilton because the property benefited from the work.

"We did the work, we didn't get paid, we have a lien against the property until we get paid," attorney Bruce Willoughby said.

A representative for Cedar Fair wasn't available for comment late Monday.

Joshi says the lawsuit is a billing dispute that will be resolved and won't stop or slow his plans to install "Star Trek: The Experience" at Neonopolis.

The Experience had an 11-year run at the Hilton that ended Sept. 1. Later that year, Joshi revealed an agreement to revive the attraction at Neonopolis. Joshi says a new version of the attraction could open in 2010.

My attempt to get a refund for tickets purchased at the Galaxy theater in the Neonopolis was a success. I emailed the corporate office and they mailed me a refund check promptly. Impressive!

I've returned from Vegas (the downtown location). It was a very interesting experience to say the least. Being a die hard Star Trek fan, I decided to watch the movie and see the "Star Trek: The Experience" at the same time. Both the movie theater and the experience were to be located in the Neonopolis shopping complex. I stayed at the Golden Gate Casino Hotel, one of the first hotels ever built in Vegas (very cool from a historical prospective). For such a old establishment it was very well kept and the price was right. I was just down the street from the Neonopolis and was very excited to see it. When I got there, it was dead quiet and I was shocked at the absence of people. From what I could tell, there were only a few establishments open for business there. For example: an Art Museum, a jewlery shop of some sort, a coffee shop on the bottom floor. All 3 businesses had fans blowing to keep them cool from the heat (approx 85 degrees). At this point my suspicions were comfirmed, there was no evidence of the Star Trek: The Experience to be found. So I proceeded to the top floor where the movie theater was located (I purchased my tickets online). There were 2 people in the theatre shuffling through papers, so I proceeded into the theater and chat with the gentleman. He told me the theatre closed yesterday (May 7) and gave me his business card. One thing that confused him was why I was the third person from Seattle that came to that theater to see Star Trek. I went back to the main fremont casino strip and asked a security guard (of one of the casinos) where I could find a movie theatre in this area. He told me the closest theater, if you drive, is about 20 minutes from here. I later found out, that a large sum of money for the airconditioning hasn't been paid for. Once they get things organized and the Star Trek The Experience opens, I plan on going back.

I am flying from Seattle to Vegas for the opening of the Star Trek The Experience on May 8. I'll watch the movie at the Neonopolis Center and get drunk at Quarks Bar. Oh Yeah!