2017 NAMBA Nationals

History of Sunset Park The land that the park is on was first developed as a ranch in 1900 by John F Miller, who owned Hotel Nevada ‐ one of the first casinos in Las Vegas. In 1939 the ranch was sold to J. Kell Houssels Sr, who owned the Las Vegas Club Casino. Houssels turned the ranch into the Vegas Stock Farm where he bred and trained thoroughbred horses. Though he was a successful gaming pioneer in the city, the racehorse farm was his passion. In 1963 Houssels sold the ranch to Wilbur Clark (owner of the Desert Inn Casino) and a few other investors. Clark County eventually purchased the area in 1967 and turned it into Las Vegas’s first city park. The park today is 324 acres in total size and in addiƟonal to the pond/RC boat ramp it contains: It’s rumored that the park leŌ more than 200 bodies buried in the area before construcƟon, but there is no evidence that a cemetery was ever on the site. 3 5 ’ M O A I S T A T U E Originally a pair of statues that sat outside the entrance to the Stardust casino, for the Aku Aku restaurant. Moved to the park when the restaurant closed in 1980.  9 soŌball fields  2 liƩle league fields  8 basketball courts  5 playgrounds  several miles of walking paths  fitness course  splash pad  disc golf course  dog park  7 sand volleyball courts  8 tennis courts. The pond is 14 acres in size and between 10‐12 feet deep. Besides being where we race it’s also home to various species of fish, stocked weekly with rainbow trout between November and March and monthly with channel caƞish from April to October. In 1980 William BenneƩ (of Circus Circus fame) donated $66k to the country for improvement of the model boat facility, which paid for the following:  Shade shelter (which we sƟll enjoy today)  Drivers overlook plaƞorm  Paved entrance road The county added $40k to the improvement efforts to build the restrooms. In 2014 the parks department renovated the area boat racing area, adding the stairs and built in elevated driving area, covered picnic areas, and landscaping. Page 9 2 0 1 7 N A M B A N A T I O N A L S