$5B Echelon On Ice Through '09

LAS VEGAS-Boyd Gaming stated in its quarterly report this week that construction probably will not resume in 2009 for its delayed $4.8-billion Echelon development on the Las Vegas Strip. Boyd’s first project on the Strip, the 87-acre integrated resort was scheduled to open in late 2010 with 5,000 rooms in five hotels, 750,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, 300,000 square feet of retail, two live entertainment venues, 30 dining and nightlife venues, a 140,000-square-foot casino and parking for 8,000 cars.

Work on Echelon officially got underway in June 2007. The company halted construction on Aug. 1, saying it hoped to resume construction in nine to 12 months.

“Due to the continued deterioration in credit market conditions and the economic outlook, it is unlikely that we will resume construction in 2009,” the company stated in its 10-Q filing this week. “Nonetheless, we remain committed to having a meaningful presence on the Las Vegas Strip.”