McCarran Marketplace is a sprawling complex of shopping centers, pads, and big box stores bordering…read morethe east periphery of McCarran International Airport along Eastern Avenue from Patrick Street to Russell Road. On some flights departing McCarran International Airport it is the last thing that people see before setting off for the friendly skies. Below the friendly skies most people see its giant asphalt sea by means of Eastern Avenue. There are at least four entrances from Eastern Avenue including the signalized ones at Patrick Street and Oquendo Road. The McCarran Marketplace asphalt sea is so grand that it is approximately a half-mile one way walk between the Walmart Automotive Center to the Starbuck's.
McCarran Marketplace serves the role of a regional shopping center much like Eastgate at Sunset and Marks and Eastern Beltway Center at Eastern and Serene. Since the shopping complex opened around 2006, I have patronized it. I will go into more detail about this shopping center.
The way it is laid out, the power center stores are nearer the airport. From south to north they include the Walmart Supercenter, Petsmart, Office Depot, Ross, and Lowe's. Amungst them is a Dollar Tree. Throughout the shopping centers and pads fronting Eastern Avenue are the restaurants excluding the McDonald's in the Walmart Supercenter. From south to north they include Peter Piper Pizza, Del Taco, Farmer Boys, Firehouse Subs, Jamba Juice, China Dragon, a Hawaiin restaurant, Carl's Jr., Port of Subs, and Starbuck's. Joining the restaurants in these shopping centers and pads are the services including Bank of America, AT&T, a Verizon authorized shop, Eastern Hills Dental, Fantastic Sam's, and other businesses. Throughout the years I have spent time in many of these places and reviewed a few.
What I like about this shopping complex is that it is less congested and easier to exit than many regional shopping centers such as Eastern Beltway Center. Thanks to the two signalized intersections at Eastern and the indirect one onto Russell via Surry Street, it is generally a breeze to exit the complex. Another thing I like is that there is sufficient empty land allowing the complex to grow. As I write this review there is a sign at the empty lot on the northwest corner of Eastern and Patrick saying "For Lease." Will this be Las Vegas's newest Raising Cane's, Chick-fil-A, Burger King, or Dunkin Donuts? " Speaking of growth when so many shopping centers are suffering, the only vacancy I am aware of here is Payless Shoes. Now, what I dislike is that there is poor pedestrian circulation between the different components of the complex. For example when I walk from Walmart at the southwest corner to Starbuck's at the northeast corner there is a lack of a crosswalk or traffic calming device at Oquendo Road which cuts through the shopping complex causing an asphalt divide between Dollar Tree and Lowe's. To exaberate the situation there is a blind spot where Oquendo Road curves. Once you cross Oquendo Road, there is a vast Lowe's parking lot and another shopping center road to cross. There is also a want for a walkway and crosswalk between Lowe's and the shopping center at the northeast corner by Russell. The poor pedestrian circulation is also evident between the Walmart and power center strip and the Eastern Avenue facing shopping center by Oquendo Road. If I want to walk between Walmart and either Firehouse or China Dragon, I am left to cross a curving shopping center road with a blind spot and no crosswalk. Obviously McCarran Marketplace was designed first and foremost for the automobile and not the pedestrian. The upshot is that an automobile is more preferable when combining two businesses spread across the shopping complex. Especially in the summertime.
Only a few hundred feet and over the fence from where commercial airplanes take off on a McCarran International Airport airstrip, convenience and shopping take off in McCarran Marketplace retail strips. And before I take off, I am giving the McCarran Marketplace four stars. It's selection of stores, restaurants, and services and ease of exiting safely onto Eastern Avenue with its two traffic signals makes this regional shopping complex worthy of four stars and return visits.
