The Mirage's Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat will permanently close
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The iconic Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage Las Vegas are coming to an end.
Brian Ahern, Executive Director of Communications at MGM Resorts International released the following statement to News 3 on Tuesday afternoon.
Read the full statement below:
For more than 30 years, Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat has lived out its mission to enhance guests’ understanding and appreciation of animals and the environments in which they live.
Millions of people have enjoyed seeing the Bottlenose Dolphins, White Tigers, White Lions, and Leopards up close and learning about them from the amazing Mirage Animal Care teams and guides.
Many of you have asked about plans for the animals once the sale closes, and today we’d like to provide an update. Hard Rock’s leadership team has spent several months considering options and discussing the facility openly with your leadership teams at both The Mirage and MGM Resorts.
As Hard Rock has thought about its vision for The Mirage post-close, the team has determined that the best course of action is to wind down and, eventually, permanently close the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat prior to the commencement of construction of the Guitar Hotel and other planned transformational redevelopments of The Mirage.
Given this decision, we’ve agreed to work proactively together in the months ahead to develop a plan to permanently relocate the animals to new homes where they will continue to be loved and cared for by welltrained, highly respected animal care professionals and veterinary experts. Rest assured that the health, safety, and well-being of the animals is our top priority. For three decades, nothing has been more important, and that will not change moving forward. Both MGM and Hard Rock are committed to finding new homes for the animals that meet our required high standards of care and give each animal an opportunity to thrive.
MGM’s leadership team spoke directly to The Mirage animal care team today about this decision so that we can all begin working together on next steps and ensure that the animals continue to receive the highest levels of dedicated care throughout this transition.
As you know, the Dolphin Habitat has been temporarily closed so that outside experts and the animal care team can conduct a thorough review of the animals and facility. We are nearing the completion of that review but have not yet determined when the facility will reopen or in what capacity.
We will share another update as soon as plans and timing are finalized.
MGM Resorts agreed to sell The Mirage to Hard Rock International for $1.075 billion in cash, last year. The sale is expected to close by the end of December, pending Nevada regulatory approval.
Check back for updates.
