At 2:30 a.m. on October 9, the iconic Tropicana hotel towers on the Las Vegas Strip will be demolished in less than 30 seconds. The two 23-story buildings, totaling 917,400 square feet, will be brought down by Controlled Demolition using a combined 2,190 pounds of explosives, as announced by Bally’s Corp. and the Oakland Athletics.
Before the implosion, the Tropicana will be honored with a spectacular show featuring 555 drones and a fireworks display by Fireworks by Grucci. The Paradise Tower, made of structural steel, will have 220 cut-point locations filled with 490 pounds of explosives, while the Club Tower, constructed with reinforced concrete, will have 1,130 boreholes filled with 1,700 pounds of explosives. A total of 22,000 lineal feet of detonating cord will be used to trigger the implosion.
Steve Hill, President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, stated that the event will symbolize the rich history of Las Vegas. “We appreciate the significant role The Tropicana had in making Las Vegas what it is today. As a city that constantly looks toward the future, we are excited to see how this iconic corner will shape Las Vegas’ legacy,” Hill said in a statement.
The implosion and fireworks show will not have public viewing spaces, so residents are encouraged to watch the spectacle on television. Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson believes that the Tropicana will be the last structure on the Strip to be imploded for a long time. “It’s going to be an awfully exciting evening,” Gibson told the Review-Journal. “It’s been years since we did our last one, and it will likely be many, many years before we do another.”
The demolition of the Rat Pack era Tropicana is to make room for the Oakland Athletics’ planned $1.5 billion, 33,000 fan capacity ballpark. The stadium will be built on 9 acres of the 35-acre site, with Bally’s Corp. intending to construct a new resort around the ballpark in the future. The A’s aim to start construction on the stadium in the second quarter of next year, completing it by early 2028 for the Major League Baseball season.