Pinball Hall of Fame OK’d to build near Las Vegas Strip
Clark County commissioners approved plans Wednesday for the Pinball Hall of Fame’s new home near the south edge of the Strip.
Operators of the Las Vegas arcade had filed plans to construct a one-story, 26,880-square-foot building on a vacant parcel at 4915 Las Vegas Blvd. South, near Russell Road, county documents show.
The plans were approved 6-0. Commissioner Michael Naft was absent.
“This is really, I think, a cool addition to the Strip,” Commissioner Jim Gibson, whose district includes the project site, said before the vote.
The arcade would be roughly three times the size of the Pinball Hall of Fame’s current location near UNLV, bring a rare burst of construction to a sleepy stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard and offer tourists a spot for low-priced entertainment.
Tim Arnold, who founded and operates the Pinball Hall of Fame with his wife, Charlotte Owens, told the Review-Journal last week that the current arcade, 1610 E. Tropicana Ave., has about 250 machines on the floor and that he wants to have 600 to 700 at the new one.
He also said he hopes to open the facility in a year or a year and a half.
Arnold is president of the Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club, a nonprofit group that operates the arcade and owns the 1.76-acre parcel on Las Vegas Boulevard. Through the club, Arnold bought the land last summer for about $4.5 million.
Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said at the hearing Wednesday that he is excited for Arnold.
“For all of you throwback folks out there like me, if you’re looking for a good time, my family loves pinball games, this man has everything,” Weekly said.
Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.