The iconic Tropicana Las Vegas Resort was demolished early Wednesday in a stunning fireworks and drone display.
The classic hotel on the Sin City strip stood for 67 years, but has now made way for a new $1.5 billion ballpark for the Athletics franchise’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
Footage of the demolition showed the complex’s two 23-story structures crumbling as 550 drones and 150 ‘pyrodrones’ performed a light show over the city.
Nearly 2,200 pounds of explosives were used to bring down the Tropicana, taking just 22 seconds from the time the implosion button was pressed to the towers falling.
The iconic Tropicana Las Vegas Resort was demolished early Wednesday in a stunning fireworks and drone display.
550 drones and 150 ‘pyrodrones’ illuminated the city during the demolition, which used more than 2,200 pounds of explosives
The light and fireworks show paid tribute to Tropicana’s place in Las Vegas history, including displaying the iconic Tropicana logo on drones.
Also included in the display was the classic ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign and a tribute to the new athletics franchise.
In preparation for the team’s move to Las Vegas for the 2028 season, ground has been cleared for a new athletics stadium following its move from Oakland, California, where the franchise has been since 1968.
The new stadium will cost more than $1.5 billion, will seat 33,000 fans and is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 season.
Residents can also expect more development at the 35-acre Tropicana site, with Las Vegas developers scrambling to build in the rest of the area after the 9-acre stadium is built.
The hotel has been cleared to make way for a proposed $1.5 billion ballpark (seen in a rendering) for the Oakland Athletics’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas.
The new stadium (seen in a rendering) will seat 33,000 fans and is expected to be completed in time for the 2028 season.
Originally built in 1957, the Tropicana was the most expensive property in Las Vegas history when it opened and quickly became the epitome of West Coast glamour.
Best known for its featured role in the film The Godfather as Michael Corleone’s Las Vegas casino, the Tropicana also appeared in the classic 1971 James Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever.
The Tropicana’s immensely popular Les Folies Bergere show opened in 1959 and became the longest-running show in Las Vegas history before finally closing in 2009.
The hotel quickly emerged as a celebrity hotspot in its heyday, with Frank Sinatra, Eddie Fisher and Sammy Davis Jr. among its regular guests in the 1950s and 1960s.
But the extravagant resort was also plagued by scandals over the years, most notably its ties to the mafia, which ultimately tarnished its reputation.
In his most notable mafia-related scandal, in 1957 mobster Frank Costello was shot in the head and investigators found a note at the scene containing confidential information about Tropicana’s finances.
The hotel struggled to shake off its reputation as a mob favorite in the decades that followed, even as it also emerged as a celebrity favorite.
The Tropicana, seen a year after it was built in 1958, was a staple of the Sin City strip and appeared in several iconic films, including The Godfather.
It was the hotel chosen by James Bond in the popular 1971 film Diamonds Are Forever. He is seen at the posh Tropicana resort in the film.
Singer Eddie Fisher seen performing at the Tropicana during his heyday in 1958.
Before Wednesday morning’s demolition, the last hotel torn down in Las Vegas was The Riviera in 2016.
It joined other iconic Sin City hotels that were removed, including The Boardwalk, The New Frontier, The Stardust and The Dunes, it reports. 8NewsNow.
“What Las Vegas has done, in classic Las Vegas fashion, has turned a lot of these implosions into spectacles,” Geoff Schumacher, a historian and vice president of exhibits at the Mob Museum, told the Associated Press.
