Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally’s Las Vegas Won’t Look Nearly as Horrific as Predicted, We Lied

By Scott Roeben, on June 01 2014

2 min read 2 comments

Las Vegas Las Vegas Shopping Las Vegas WTF

Construction of the Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally’s Las Vegas is moving along at a brisk pace.

Two new six-story-tall structures are among the latest developments in the space formerly occupied by a people-mover, trees and water features.

What we originally thought would be a slapdash collection of kiosks is looking more like a permanent addition to the Las Vegas Strip.

The Grand Bazaar Shops at Bally’s says of itself, “designed as a 21st-century bazaar, Grand Bazaar Shops is an immersive retail and dining experience.” So, yeah, an outdoor mall.

This new shopping area is being built in response to a shortage of shopping in Las Vegas.

Sorry, we could barely type that with a straight face. It’s being built because trees and water features won’t help the Grand Bazaar Shops’ owners, Caesars Entertainment, help pay off its $23 billion in long-term debt. Neither will an outdoor shopping center, but why not give it a try?

Here’s another look at the work-in-progress.

Ever since renderings for the Grand Bazaar Shops were first released, the design has been universally reviled.

Here’s the source of all the WTF.

As the project has developed, we held out hope the designers of the new mall would come to their senses and change the design to make it less garish.

Now, however, it’s clear the Grand Bazaar Shops will look a lot like the original plans specified. How do we know? Well, our friends at the 360 Vegas podcast tipped us off to a top secret staging area where a prototype of one of the Grand Bazaar Shops canopy pieces (they appear to go between the buildings, presumably to provide shade) has already been partially assembled. Take a look.

Naturally, we breached security to get a closer look. Unless that’s incriminating in some way, in which case, nevermind. It’s satire. Or something.

These decorative flourishes will, indeed, end up looking like a rainbow became violently ill on them.

The two-acre Grand Bazaar Shops will boast about 150 stores, and is located at the corner of Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard. You’ll know it when you see it, because it will have this sign outside.