LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The city of Las Vegas is investing in the Arts District to turn the vacant former Eclipse Theatres downtown into a multi-use arts hub with production studios, workforce training and live performance spaces.
The project is the work of Third Street, a downtown nonprofit arts incubator. The City of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency has approved a reimbursement agreement for the project.
Third Street founder cites local arts community
Daz Weller, the founder of Third Street, said the project comes out of downtown’s creative community.
“We really have grown out of the cultural life of Las Vegas,” Weller said.
Weller worked as a theatre actor in Australia before moving to Las Vegas. He noticed a gap in opportunities for local artists, which led him to found Third Street.
Education partnerships and training space
Weller’s plan is to mentor local talent through education partnerships with local high schools, CSN and UNLV.
“Let’s stop importing our talent to serve our industry and actually nurture the talent that we already have here in the city to be able to provide the services that we need,” Weller said.
The training will be housed in the former Eclipse Theatres building.
“And so this building became available, and we were able to sign a lease on it at the end of last year,” Weller said.
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Livestream plans
Jim D’Asaro, a founding board member and chair of the construction committee, is leading the expansion of physical capacity. The group also plans to livestream productions nationwide.
“I think in the future we are going to have a much greater capacity to entertain larger productions where we are in this current setup somewhat limited,” D’Asaro said.
He brings decades of experience from the performing arts industry, working in production and stage management, executive director, and director of production at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.
Timeline and funding
Crews expect to break ground in about eight months to renovate and expand the auditoriums. The doors are projected to open by summer 2028.
The project has a price tag of $7.4 million. The city of Las Vegas is contributing $4.2 million, and private donations will cover the rest.
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