Car showroom as tourist attraction? Yes, according to a Bloomberg News report which says that tourism is the impetus behind a new Ferrari/Maserati dealership slated to open in the lobby of Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s new $US2.4 billion, 2,700-room casino hotel under construction in Las Vegas.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The report said the dealership is scheduled to open when the resort does in the spring of 2005 and is a 50-50 joint venture with United Auto Group Inc., the retail chain headed by Roger Penske.
UAG owns a second US Ferrari dealership in Scottsdale, Arizona, while Penske owns two in the UK, Bloomberg News noted.
The report said resort visitors will be able to look at, but probably not touch, a half dozen or more new Ferraris and Maseratis on display, free of charge, but will be able to buy Ferrari-branded merchandise at a store or have a meal at the Ferrari cafe.
Bloomberg News said that, with only 29 US dealerships and about 18,000 Ferraris registered out of 212.4 million vehicles on US roads, most Americans – even if they’ve heard of the exotic Italian sports car – probably have never seen one.
Steve Wynn has, the report noted. The Wynn Resorts chief executive officer has a black $650,000 Ferrari Enzo displayed in the lobby near his office.
Marc Schorr, chief operating officer of Wynn Resorts, told Bloomberg News that only about 40% of the new casino hotel’s revenue will come from gaming, with the rest from restaurants, catering shops, meetings and room rentals – a decade ago, the hotel would have provided about 70% of revenue.
Bloomberg News said that Ferrari owners who decide to drive to Las Vegas will be able to have their vehicles serviced at the hotel, where attendants will whisk them to an underground service area, but, for the time being, the 125 or so Las Vegas residents who own Ferraris must drive – or ship them – to Scottsdale or Los Angeles for service.
