Museum rethinks relocation plans

The Las Vegas Art Museum, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., has announced a change in plans for its new location.

The art museum was making arrangements to move to the former site of the All-American Sportspark, a facility at 121 E. Sunset Road.

That building would have provided roughly 100,000 square feet of space. Its current facility, which is attached to Sahara West Library at 9600 W. Sahara Ave., has about 30,000 square feet of space.

Citing the urging of donors, the museum opted against the interim step of leasing a facility in favor of finding a permanent home.

"We have a lot of options that our board is investigating right now," said Alex Codlin, executive assistant director of the museum. "But we're still in the process of figuring out our next move."

The search includes looking for an existing building to purchase, or raw land on which to build.

Codlin said the museum prefers a centralized location, one with at least as much square footage as the 121 E. Sunset Road lease would have afforded.

She suggested the museum would need an even larger space, perhaps as much as 200,000 square feet, as the museum grew.

"Some of the large casinos have called, offering support," said Libby Lumpkin, executive director of the museum.

She declined to say which ones, but the suggested locations were "not necessarily on casino property."

Museum officials said the process of pinpointing another location, whether an existing building or a raw land parcel, takes time and it may take a few months for the museum to announce a site.

For more information, visit www.lasvegasartmuseum.org.