Fitz News

Thanks, Mike. This is a very exciting project, and I am eager to be involved with it. Definitely going to have an enormous impact on downtown Reno, and our region in general. For right now, I will say that it's all positive, adaptive, and perfect for America's Adventure Place!

Technically, we're "Far From Expected"... as the "America's Adventure Place" campaign has been retired. That said...this is awesome, amazing news...and it could NOT be better timed.

Well said! And to be honest, it will be far from expected, too!

This is VERY exciting and perfectly timed news. I am a firm believer in the Fitz and have always believed in Fernando Leal, I knew he would deliver. When can we expect to hear details? I am eager to learn more about what's going to take place there!!

This is awesome. What is the project? I can't wait to see what Leal has up his sleeve.

Let's hope this is not another Montage financial fiasco in the making.

Great news Matt! Hopefully Fernando will do far from expected and make the Fitz agaming and hotel venue, not going with his original non gaming approach...eagerly waiting for the announcement!

Anything is possible really but whatever Leal decides to do with that building I support it and will be there on opening day.

Old Johnny, it looks like you are NOT EVEN CLOSE. http://renorealtyblog.com/2010/12/fitz-and-starts.html

Yep I'm looking wrong here. Hope not. We shall see I guess...

Do you have any idea when the news will become public?

I hope that they will re-open the Fitz as a hotel/casino, it was one of the last few Reno icons. My husband and I were two of many of Fitz's loyal patrons. The Fitz may have had a 3 star rating but 5 Stars when it came to what they offered and how they treated their guests. We miss it a lot, it was our "home away from home".

HEY I WANT TO THE KNOW WHATS GOIN ON ??? WELL I HOPE THAT THE FITZ REOPENS AS CASINO...THAT AND MUCH MUCH MORE SUCH AS A MINI ADVENTURE PARK ATTACHED TO IT WITH AWESOME RIDES....IVE ALWAYS SAID RENO NEEDS TO START COMPETING WITH VEGAS LA N NEW YORK... RENO CAN TOTALLY DO IT IT JUST NEEDS A LITTLE PUSH.. WE ARE TOTALLY IN THE SAME BALLPARK AS THEM..GREAT PEOPLE...GREAT ATMOSPHERE..GREAT LOCATION. WE JUST NEED SOME SERIOUS UPGRADES AROUND THE CITY TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE AS A TOURIST DESTINATION...SKYSCRAPERS..ADVENTURE PARKS...MORE BUSINESS....STORES..ETC....

Reno Steve, thanks for the link from earlier. I enjoy reading the posts on that one almost as much as this site!

THE GORILLA MAN FOR MAYOR!

Can you get your buddy Fernando to finish painting the old Masonic building. It is a discraceful eyesore that all the tourists drive by.

WELL AFTER READING SOME OF THE COMMENTS MADE OF FERNANDO LEAL FROM THAT SITE!!! I SEEM TO HAVE MIXED THOUGHTS ABOUT HIM....GOTTA ADMIT THAT THE MONTAGE LOOKS NICE FROM THE INSIDE BUT NOT FROM THE OUTSIDE... THAT NASTY ORANGE COLOR ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP IS HIDEOUS AND DOESN'T TIE IN WITH THE REST OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA OR THIS CITY IN GENERAL.....SO IT REALLY NEEDS SOME PAINT JOB..HMM HOW ABOUT A LIGHT BEIGE COLOR OR TAN???...WOULD BE MUCH BETTER.... N THE COMMENT ABOUT HIM TRYING TO JUST MAKE SOME MONEY ON THESE PROPERTIES HMMMM I DONT KNOW..... ALL I GOTTA SAY IS THAT THIS BETTER BE A GOOD IDEA N NOT A STUPID ONE WHICH WILL MAKE OUR DOWNTOWN UGLIER THAN WHAT IT ALREADY IS.... IN OTHER WORDS HE BETTER IMPRESS WITH THE PLANS HE HAS WITH THAT PROPERTY OR HE DOESN'T HAVE MY SUPPORT OR THE SUPPORT OF THIS CITY... BUT UNTIL NOW I WILL HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE PLAN IS... .....HE REALLY SHOULD LET OTHERS HAVE SOME INPUT IN THIS PLAN IF HE WISHES TO SUCCEED....OR IT WILL JUST BE A FAILURE.....

I AGREE, THE GORILLA MAN!! IF IT'S NOT GOOD, I WON'T LIKE IT EITHER!! OH NO NO NO, FERNANDO. MAKE IT GOOD AND I WILL LIKE. BAD AND I WON'T. GO GO GO FERNANDO, GO GO GO!!! (gawd, I sure do miss the biggest little thang y'all got going on out west)

Leal took a lot of downtown property and turned it into blight. The last plan I heard was that the Fitz was going to be the next Sienna. He took a working casino and turned it into blight and people are excited about what he will do next? His poor decisions and management about the montage ended up in a new ghost building for downtown. Instead of turning functional businesses like the Fitz into blight why not start with moving the blight into functional businesses - there is plenty of work in this direction needed. I guess the Fitz is now in this track thanks to Leal. If it is going to go the way of the Sienna part 2 I will put my bid in for a million right now. I have overheard many visitors comment on the scummy and dangerous feel downtown Reno has, this is the problem that needs to be addressed. Unless this image/problem gets addressed Reno will be heading toward ghost town more than prosperity. Whether that means putting in subway or monorail system to interconnect the major points of Reno so people will not have experience/see the blight/homeless/etc that is downtown or simply put facades over the see-through buildings (the ice rink for the winter, lights on the Reno building and casinos, crooked christmas tree and other decorations put out are a small image hiding one that needs to go a lot farther and year round to make a difference). The final solution would require a really big investment $$$ to fix downtown, but since we are not China or India this will not be happening. Leal moving ahead with the Fitz just gives me chills as to how this will futher screw up Reno as I have little confidence based solely on his performance and outcome for this city.

I live in Portland and have been visiting downtown Reno several times a year for over 17 years. My best friend has been doing this since the early 70s. Both of us very much miss the small casino atmosphere that used to be downtown. When I started coming here there were 17 decent casinos to play at downtown. As of this writing there are 6 and the downtown has never looked worse. I love Reno and always have. I read the RGJ and blogs online daily. My thought has always been that there is a good market for a "retro" casino experience downtown if they would only market it. I don't go to Indian casinos up here because I just don't like them and I am not alone in that regard. Plane fair for me is about $160.00 and rooms are free with a players card or very cheap. So I have never understood why there has been no plan to aggressively market Reno in areas like mine that are 1-2 hours plane ride away. It seems to me that the City of Reno needs to sit down with the remaining casinos and come up with a short and long term plan to market and clean up Downtown. Play on Reno's strength, or what's left of it, and stop trying to be a little SF or Vegas. Get the downtown cleaned up and focus on what you have and work that angle as much as you can. If Leals new "vision" proves to work with that plan then by all means go for it. So far Leals vision has not work for Reno. As an outsider I was baffled by the concept of the Montage. High end condos? Really? You need a vibrant commercial and business base first but that is just my uninformed view. Leal strikes me as typical of the condo builders in Portland with their visions of grandeur(and $$$). As a contractor in the construction trade up here I can tell you that I saw the writing on the wall in 05-06 and adjusted my business to meet the fall. Anyone could see it coming, it did not take gift of IQ or foresight. But many like Leal chose to play musical chairs up until the bitter end and hoped they had a seat when the music stopped. I have a plan.....reopen the Fitz with sound management and a good gaming environment. That would be a prudent move and a start in the right direction. But my bet is Leal will screw the pooch on the Fitz and slap out some weird-ass mess that in a year or so it will be another vacant bankrupt eyesore. I hope I am wrong, I really do but Leal has done nothing downtown that even remotely smacks of smart business sense or an instinct for "a game changer". At least not the "game changer" that wins games. Just my opinion. Happy Holidays, I'll be back in the spring!

I think it's insane to blame Leal for the Fitz being dark. He built the Montage which looks to be first rate. Remember there was/is a small matter about the biggest national bank meltdown and economic recession since World War II? Reno's problems have been going on since the 1980's when they were making money but didn't reinvest in their downtown. They thought it was a better strategy to keep people from venturing out of the casinos because there was nothing out there. Simply dumb. Do I hope they re-do the Fitz and power scrub the old historic Masonic building? You bet.

It appears lots of us are wanting to know what Nando is up to, so what say you Downtownmakeover man? It would be a good time to spill the beans on the Nandoplan...

Hey Mike, I'm checking your site daily for the Fitz news and Nando's plan...it's been 2 weeks. When will you be breaking the plan to the public?

I hear it is going to be a hotel with a rock climbing wall all the way up the side to the top. If i remember correctly the Fitz is jointly owned by one of the Cashells.

It's so easy to criticize plans you don't have the details to support. Why waste time speculating? When the announcement for the Fitz is made, there will be those that criticize the intent no matter how honest and visionary it is. Yes, Fernando Leal is here to make money. But I doubt few of you really know how honestly dedicated to this community he truly is. Trust me... he has many options to invest - and Reno is nothing close to a "sure bet" anymore. He's reinvesting now, prudently, with an eye on future growth. Name one other developer in this town that cares that much now. Reno needs to embrace change at a very fundamental level. Reno is no longer a "gambling town".... gaming is never going to be the economic driver it once was in northern Nevada. There need to be new attractions to reverse the 12 year declining trends. I think we all all have to maintain an open mind, and be willing to accept new ideas and concepts if we're going to become competitive in tourism again.

Anyone who wishes can read my opinion on rock wall Fitz on the realty website http://renorealtyblog.com/2010/12/fitz-and-starts.html, however, I am keeping myself reserved on this board out of respect for Mike. Smartbrander, you are correct that it is easy to criticize a plan with no details, also it is easier to criticize than it is to support a radical idea. It sounds as if you know Fernando Leal, perhaps you can remind him the Fitz is across the street from a casino, has another casino on its side, and is on the casino strip. From what I have read, Nando is running out of investment options, he really needs to make the Fitz work. I understand he is the only thing going now, but sometimes doing "something" is worse than doing nothing at all. Many times that "something" is irreversable and wrong. Mike?? are you ever going to let the world in on the Nandoplan??

A rock wall? LOL!! Good lord I hope not. The last gamechanger Leal inflicted on that property cost 400 people their jobs. The Fitz was a profitable casino prior to purchase by Leal despite the bankruptcy. 400 jobs and a profitable casino in place of the empty eyesore that's cooking now would go a long way in this economy. Is Cashell still involved? He was a disaster for the Fitz.

Profitable? Hardly. I worked there prior to it closing. It was doomed to close either way, why do you think so many prior prospective buyers passed on it? Those jobs were doomed when gaming became a thing of the past in Reno, just like the jobs at Harolds, Virginian, etc.

oldjohnny I'm totally with you on this one...he needs to realize that on its side there is a casino..called ELDORADO...across the street its called HARRAHS..on the side there is a trashy empty building that is so called golden phoenix inside....and beside that there is the little nugget with awful awful burger place that really needs some serious expansion..and should be bought by some new owners...along with the little nugget..ive noticed that ever since it was aired in television recently between the food wars versus the awful burger from JA nugget it has increasingly BEEN very popular With the ppl that had no idea dat place existed...perhaps fernado leal should be focused in buying and expanding this little place but immensely worldwide famous place called awful awful burger....if a developer with the right mind set could just come in and have the capabilities of thinking about bringing all this together in one place then they would succeed...but dont forget that they need GAMING..DINING (AWFUL AWFUL BURGER PERHAPS??NE ONE??) AND FUN AND AVENTURE FOR THE KIDS....ROCK CLIMBING WAS A GOOD IDEA WHO EVER MENTIONED THAT...AND WAT ABOUT MAYBE ADVENTURE RIDES...LIKE ROLLER COASTERS OR WATER SLIDES....AN ADVENTURE AMUSEMENT PARK...SOMETHING THAT THE OTHER CASINOS IN TOWN LACK IN...THATS PERHAPS WHY SO MANY OF THEM ARE NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY IN NORTHERN NEVADA...MOST OF THEM JUST HAVE A STUPID LITTLE ARCADE WITH NO FUN AT ALL...HMM PERHAPS THEY SHOULD LEARN FROM VEGAS IN THIS ASPECT...N THEN MAYBE JUST MAYBE THE PARENTS WOULD ACTUALLY STAY AND GAMBLE...AND NORTHERN NEVADAS GAMING REVENUE WOULD AKTUALLY GO UP...

in other words many parents are not gonna stay if they dont have a place for their kids to be at while they gamble peacefully...n those dumb little arcades that many northeRn nevada casinos have are NOT gonna HELP.

Well – if true – this is about as exciting as the Old MGM, er, Grand Sierra, having those bungee machines right on 395.

The generation that comes to Reno solely to gamble is dying off, no offense to them, but it's true. Gambling in Reno has become a secondary reason to come here. It will never ever be the good ole days with a dozen hoppin' casinos and hotels all lining Virginia Street. Stop living in the past. Most casinos downtown are in serious financial trouble, like Harrah's and Sands, or are just holding on barely. Most casino property revenues are down, losing money and the most stable hotel casinos are ones with other properties in other cities (like Macau) which are sustaining the entire company. Tourism to Reno has been down year over year for 13 years straight. If we continue to think that a gaming-centric downtown is the answer for Reno, then be prepared to sit back and watch even more casinos go under. Whoever said the Fitzgerald's was profitable, I want some of the stuff you are smoking, because no one would close down a profitable hotel casino. Name a hotel casino downtown turning a profit right now. Exactly.

I think its kind of a cool idea, sort of adds to the adventure aspect of northern Nevada. Its much better than a closed hotel, and will add some intrigue to walking down Virginia Street. I actually like it.

FERNANDO LEAL seriously u shld just hire me...im telling u now...i got some really great ideas...but i must not tell u unless im hired....see i have the ideas and u have the money...my ideas would make this downtown area a success ....idk man but i think that you guys just cant top mine...NEWAYS MIKE SAID DAT U WERE SUPPOSE TO COME BY THIS WEBSITE SOON...SO IF U SEE THIS MESSAGE U SHOULD REALLY TRY TO REACH ME....UNLESS YOU WANT YOUR PROJECT TO FAIL!!!!! O BY THE WAY HAVE NE OF YOU NOTICED THAT THE STUPID KNITTING FACTORY IS MAKING IT HARD FOR PEOPLE TO EVEN COME THROUGH THE BACKSIDE OF THE BURGER PLACE BECUASE OF THOSE DAMN TOUR BUSES.............

What I have read shows Fitzgeralds was profitable (barely) for the 7 years it was in bankruptcy. 2000-2007. That is based on the court records at the time of sale to L-3. L-3 purchased it and killed it in 11 months.

Fitzgeralds was on a steady downhill slide, I worked in the executive offices, I saw P & L Sheets with my own eyes. The only reason it was remotely profitable is not a single dime was invested into the property for two decades. Not the hotel rooms, not the property, not the gaming, not the carpets, not the decor. This contributed to its downhill slide as casinos around it improved their properties...and if even a little bit of money was used to reinvest in the Fitzgerald's, there would not have been a profit at all. Even being right next to the arch, it was not a desirable property for anyone to buy, except for Farahi, who did not end up buying it. If it was such a hot property why didn't anyone in the gaming industry snatch it up in the nearly 7 years it was available? To blame its demise on the owners who acquired it during the last 11 months of its existence is foolhardy. There was a reason the property and the entire company filed Chapter 11.

The Fitz was mismanaged for years after the old guy passed away. It's been my experience that bankrupcy receivership management companies do not have the skills or the drive to make a business profitable, and are not paid to do that. Diane, your observations are dead on. I still believe that if it were done correctly, without the excessive greed factor, the Fitz could have turned much more profit than it ultimately did. Too many hands in the pie, not enough skill and brains, ultimately killed the Fitz. Gorilla man, pretty sure Nando can't pay your salary, but you have my vote for his new vp of good ideas. Reno, as Pauly said, is becoming less of a gambling destination for sure, but it is still a draw for many folks and they should not be discounted. If Reno played on the retro, one of a kind casino strip, cleaned out the rif raff, tidied up the area and marketed it, the casinos that remain would draw people to the town. And it wouldn't take much! Pauly, I was unaware Harrahs was in serious financial trouble, I'll have to look into that, but really, what other draw will bring folks to this town? Can't you have gambling and some other draw, perhaps to a different street than Virginia?

Someone posted something like a comment that the generation that used to come to Reno to see shows, stay in the downtown hotels and gamble, is dying off. I think the extent of our collective demises has been exagerated. My wife and I, and our generation of friends, have hopefully more than a few years left, and we would still visit, if the Virginia Street area were cleaned-up and the rooms updated. We don't like the big mega-resorts or the theme park feel of Las Vegas. What we do like is courteous personal service; a clean updated room with everything working in the room; a good choices of entertainment; and fresh, good food promptly served. Having a well-working ventilation system in the casino is important. We felt Virginia Street failed in all of those categories in our last visits. We would return to Reno, if you fixed up your downtown area and the hotels.

You don't seem to be very popular on this site: http://www.renorealtyblog.com. I can't seem to find a reason why though. http://www.rgj.com/article/20101223/NEWS/12230330 Did you see this? Looks like no more redevelopment downtown. Casinos not perfoming well. And just hanging on by a thread even the larger ones. As an outdoor enthusiast and someone who possesses knowledge on the sport of climbing, I would love to be a rock wall downtown but it would have to be taller than anything currently built in order to make a real statement.

The Nevada Club, Harolds and the Fitz were all good profitable ventures for small owner operators or a small group. By corprate standards they would not be considered profitable (not ENOUGH profit). One can only speculate as to how Reno would look if these small casinos had not been killed off and survived to experience the downturn we are in now. Freemont Street in Vegas? Who knows? As a business owner I do know that a smart business model, good management and hard work go a long way to increasing ones odds of survival. Sometimes you have to "Dance with the one that brought you" and that is the reality Reno faces in the short term.

Hi Mike, it's been over a month now since your Fitz news post, and there is still no word on the Nandoplan coming from your site, aside from a climbing wall rumor. Any idea when you will be giving out the details?

Hi OldJohnny howzit? Email me at playtonium@yahoo.com I'll let you know what's up

The permit application says "climbing wall with platform". RIP Fitzgeralds Reno but at least it will put some folks back to work for a bit and give the downtown a jolt.

I was at one of the public focus groups for this project and if they stick to the vision that was outlined to us, Fitzgerald's will remain Fitzgerald's in more respects than not.

AKB you mean a rock wall on the outside of the building? That would be tits. What permit? So if permits are submitted that means something is being done with that property? That would be a very good thing for downtown right next to the arch.

I assume the wall will be outside, probably the wall that faces the new plaza covered trench and opposite The Eldo. Intersting use of the Ol Fitz, to say the least.

You are correct AKB, the permit application says climbing wall with platform, per the Reno public records site. Also there is someting about interior demolition of the hard counting room.

I am also from Oregon and have driven (or ridden the) day trip to and from Reno dozens of times in my 40 years. I would like to continue that with my son.. but probably will not. I have been to Hot Aug. Nights 3-4 times but the last time i realized that they let the gangs take that over.I Used to come to gamble at the fitz and lil nugget and cal neva... now only 1 of those is really worth goin' in. Always stayed at fitz.. Can't do that anymore. I hope they give people like me some reason to come back soon cuz we would.

...also hasn't anyone noticed the poker craze worldwide right now? Seems like the big games used to come to reno.

Just learned that the Fitz will be turned into a non-gaming, wall-climbing hotel, what a shame. The Fitz was the main reason we came to Reno (4 times per year), I cried when it closed. It was such a great place to stay & play, friendly staff, fun atmosphere. To hear what they have planned for it...it was like losing a friend all over again, won't be a patron there again.