MGM Grand to renovate Las Vegas Strip facade

"We are discussing redeveloping that entire frontage of the building out to the Las Vegas Strip," said said MGM Grand President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Sibella, who has been running the property the past seven years..

As reported by Las Vegas-Review Journal, executives are studying ways to create more buzz on its segment of Las Vegas Boulevard to attract more pedestrians.

MGM Grand has 700 rooms in the west wing — the former Marina hotel — that stretches toward the boulevard “and our goal is to blow it out to the Strip and open it up like some other properties have done,” he said.

Pedestrians strolling by MGM Grand along the Strip enter the sprawling building only through an elevator or find an entrance tucked in a side street.

The revamp will include restaurants and retail, allowing more people to enter the sprawling 5,000-room property from the Strip side, he said.

New York-New York and Caesars Palace are among resorts that have restaurants opening onto the Strip.

Las Vegas-based Union Gaming analyst John DeCree said following suit “makes a lot of sense.”

“MGM Grand’s connectivity with the Strip is pretty difficult. I can’t imagine many people wander into the Grand by accident,” DeCree said.

MGM Grand already has occupancy levels above 90 percent, so there is not much revenue left to squeeze from rooms, DeCree said. But, the property could pull in foot traffic leaving T-Mobile Arena or the Park Theatre across the street.

MGM Grand would “redo” the dome area that is bordered by Hakkasan, the experimental gaming area Level Up and the sports book, Sibella said. A representative for Hakkasan Group said Wednesday the nightclub does not have any announcements regarding renovations.

Sibella said work on the project would likely not start this year and he did not give the potential value of the investment.