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Forum
Shops Phase III
Strategic
Leisure was engaged by Sheldon Gordon, co-developer of the Forum
Shops at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, to strategize and conceptualize
a third phase expansion to the existing, and incredibly successful
entertainment retail development. While the first two phases concentrated
primarily on retail, this third phase was intended to be a showcase
of entertainment. Strategic Leisure worked with renowned designer
David Rockwell and the Rockwell Group on the engagement.
Strategic Leisure conceptualized a development composed by brand
name entertainment, but anchored by a highly produced Roman "Renaissance
Festival-like" entertainment program, with a family friendly
"Caesar by Day" presentation, as well as an adults
only "Nero by Night" attitude.
What follows is an excerpt from the treatment Strategic Leisure
prepared to reflect the strategy, which included conceptual economics.
Caesar
by Day, Nero by Night
The Rise & Fall of The Roman Empire – Vegas Style
The Forum of Entertainment
by
Strategic Leisure Press
Staff Reporter
Las Vegas – Last week the hyper-entertainment of Las Vegas
just attained the next level, or two. Opening to throngs of visitors,
the latest addition to the Caesar’s city-state casino is an
enormous, enchanting, captivating, fun and, at times, even erotic
zone of entertainment known as The Forum.
Incredibly, this never before seen aggregation of high concept entertainment
destinations is not what first and foremost sets The Forum apart
from any other entertainment complex in the world. Set outside and
inside the surrealistic splendor of Roman buildings, the defining
mega-moment of The Forum experience occurs several times a day and
night.
Standing proudly along the Strip, a giant coliseum plays the dramatic
role of the neo-icon, beckoning tens of thousands each day into
The Forum’s arena of entertainment. By day this grandest of
entrances is strewn with colorful, royal pageantry honoring Caesar.
Both along the street and from perches in the arches above, gladiators,
musicians and entertainers of all types provide ephemeral performances,
and hail the Las Vegas wanderers with tales of fun at the ForumFest
beyond.
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Walking
through the Coliseum’s oval interior court open to the sky
above, Rome is clearly in the full regal splendor of Caesar’s
reign. Opulent fountains of gold spew streams of blue and emerald
water, which dance to the sounds of heralding horns and confident
cadence of distant drums.
Nero By Night: Toga Masquerade
The once brilliant building full of jubilant honor of Caesar,
now decays right before visitors' eyes, into only a skeleton,
ruined by years of neglect marking the rule Nero. This metamorphosis
seems to be perfectly timed to attract visitors from all over
the city, just after the first show or dinner – evening activities
are ending and the Las Vegas night begins.
From the Coliseum’s street front façade, the entire
mood shifts from the confidence of power and success to an eerier
decadence of a totally self-engrossed society. The walls come
tumbling down to an orchestrated score with enough mega watts
of sub-woofer reinforcement to make a several thousand person
audience feel as if they were about to party along the San Andreas
fault.
As the exoskeleton metaphor for Roman life, the Coliseum is dimly
lit with washes of red light and dark shadows. The pageantry has
totally vanished and the once gold fountain is now tarnished and
only occasionally spurting water in a strangely phallic way.
Employing ample doses of special effects, the inside of the open-air
oval is visually and audibly inhabited by uproarious partyers.
With outrageous laughs and sensuous sighs, and fleeting images
of dancing and embracing painted on the columns and arches, the
whole scene is an experiential montage, like a slightly sexy 1960’s
light show.
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