The site of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history will be turned into a community center and sports facility.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that MGM Resorts International will transform the Las Vegas Village and Route 91 Harvest music festival site — where in 2017 a gunman opened fire, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more — into a home for sports events and community gatherings. Part of the property will also convert into parking for events at Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Raiders will play once the team relocates.
“We know that for many, the Village property will forever be linked to the tragic loss of life that took place there on October 1st,” MGM Resorts International said in a statement.
“We will never forget the victims, and all of those impacted by that evening. As the second anniversary nears, we remain committed to being part of the community effort to continue healing and moving forward. In this spirit, MGM Resorts plans to build a community and athletic center on the north end of the property, which will be home to sporting events and community gatherings. We hope one day it will host high school basketball tournaments, indoor soccer for kids and provide a place for the Aces to practice and engage with the community to inspire the next generation of female athletes. It was important to us that the long-term use of the property include the community in some way. We also plan to create a space on the property to remember the victims of the tragedy.”
The Review-Journal reports that the space hasn’t been used since the shooting took place.
The plans have drawn both praise and criticism from the public. Those who were positive about the plans were optimistic about the notion of a community center bringing healing.
“We shouldn’t freeze ourselves in time,” Clark County commissioner Jim Gibson told the Review-Journal. “We have to move on, but more respectfully. Keeping in our memory the people who suffer and suffer yet. But it’s also important for us to live on. … It brings life, and we need life to be there.”
Others were upset by the part of the plan that called for a parking lot on the space. Laura Shipp, who lost her sister in the concert shooting, said that part of the plan was like “trampling on sacred ground.”
