You HAVE to see this. And kudos to Gary Goddard for sharing the story—a bitterly ironic one.
As someone who worked on the final weeks' detail layer of Star Trek: The Experience—that's only the later, topmost layer, on top of a lot of planning and wrangling by many, many others—I'm familiar with Gary's former Landmark resort/theme park development company in the mid-late 90s. But I had no clue to even dig about this ....
Gary now has his Goddard Group, and it's from that podium that he shares the incredible story of how we almost have an even more awesome Vegas landmark in 1992—FIVE YEARS before the Experience opened in January 1998. The ENTERPRISE '92 project at least led the way and got a lot of wheels turning as to possibilities.
It also points to the glaring OMISSION of any current "destination Trek" landmark in Vegas' makeup, since the Experience's premature closing in 2008, its replacement with nothing since at the dying former Hilton, and the collapse of Rohit Joshi's hoped-for "Experience revival" downtown at the Neonopolis center.
And yes, Gary's recollection revelations come complete with concept art and the whole shebang—just READ:
Now It Can Be Told: The Las Vegas "STAR TREK" Attraction That Almost Came To Life in 1992
The real winner of the 1992 downtown Las Vegas redevelopment competition was NOT the FREMONT EXPERIENCE – it was the STARSHIP ENTERPRISE from STAR TREK. But no one knows this – until now. ...
4 comments:
That would have been fantastic to have had that version. I still miss the original Experience a great deal. I hope that it will be rebuilt some day.
A life-size Enterprise... I'd stay there forever!
People have said that if this HAD been built, we wouldn't have had the Experience as it was. But this monster would have been filled up by SOMEthing--and being Vegas, that would have included bars, restaurants, shows...and probably a ride or two as well.
Now that?
That was a tragedy.
I'd rather a life-size Enterprise here in Ottawa than any casino proposed by Ontario Lottery and Gaming under the current provincial budget.
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