Development · Downtown Las Vegas
Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency approves $4.2 million to turn a former downtown movie theater into an arts campus
The city's Redevelopment Agency approved $4.2 million for a nonprofit converting the former Eclipse Theaters on Third Street into a performance and media campus, with a first phase set to open in August 2028.
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What happened
The city of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency approved $4.2 million in reimbursement funds for Third Street Arts & Media Incubator at a Wednesday meeting, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The nonprofit plans to convert the former Eclipse Theaters building at 814 S. Third St. into a creative arts campus.
In a press release, Third Street described the planned campus as a "home for performance, media production, education and workforce development." The money comes from the RDA Special Revenue Fund and will go toward Phase 1A of the project, according to the Review-Journal. More city building news is collected in our development coverage.
How the first phase is paid for
City reimbursement and private money
Documents submitted to the city put the total estimated cost of the first phase at more than $7.4 million, the Review-Journal reported. The approved city funds will reimburse more than half of that cost.
Third Street said in its release that it is also seeking "$3.3 million in complementary private capital" for the project. Together, the city funds and private money are meant to cover Phase 1A, according to the Review-Journal's account of the release.
What the first phase will build
According to the release, Third Street will turn two former cinema screens into a flexible studio theatre with around 250 seats. The work also includes accessible public routes, concessions, restrooms, dressing and performer support areas, plus a new staircase connecting the upper levels.
Third Street CEO Daz Weller confirmed to the Review-Journal that the current phase brings the campus to 75 percent programming capacity. Weller said the funds are "a catalyst for bold new work," the Review-Journal reported.
Training programs and backers
Partnerships with UNLV and CSN
The project is also designed to offer workforce development, the Review-Journal reported. Third Street plans workforce training opportunities with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the College of Southern Nevada.
Support from Teller
Teller, of the magician duo Penn and Teller, is among Third Street's backers and visionaries, according to the Review-Journal. He previously told the newspaper that a space of this scale gives new artists a chance to be seen with the best possible support.
"The arts are not just a business or a decoration, but an essential infrastructure," Teller told the Review-Journal. He also described Las Vegas as having a growing arts scene.
The building's history
The Third Street property has housed several movie theaters, the Review-Journal reported. Eclipse Theaters opened there in 2016, followed by Art Houz Theaters and then Downtown Cinemas.
Downtown Cinemas closed permanently in December 2025, according to the Review-Journal. The new plan would bring performance, media production and education into the former cinema space. Residents following changes in the urban core can find more in our neighborhoods section.
What to watch next
- Whether Third Street secures the $3.3 million in private capital it is seeking for the first phase.
- Plans for the project's second phase, which Weller told the Review-Journal are still underway.
- The scheduled grand opening of the first phase in August 2028.
