Monday’s Dark founder outlines Space 2 community center plan for Las Vegas, seeks public and private funding

Mark Chinook, founder of Monday’s Dark and a host affiliated with the Vegas Golden Knights, presented plans for "Space 2," a proposed community wellness and events center one block off the Las Vegas Strip at Polaris and Harmon to the Nevada Senate Committee on Health and Human Services.

Chinook said the building would provide mental-health and wraparound services targeted to hospitality and entertainment workers, first responders, veterans, public educators and public school students, and that nonprofit partners would operate program services from the facility.

Why it matters: Chinook framed the project as addressing an unmet need for people who work in Las Vegas’s tourism and entertainment economy. He described a public-private approach: Clark County has granted a long-term land lease, local nonprofits have agreed to provide services from the facility, and the organizers are pursuing a capital campaign and potential state support.

Project description and partners

Chinook described Space 2 as a multi-level, mixed-use facility with parking on lower floors and two large upper floors for programming and revenue-generating events. He said the design includes therapy offices, multipurpose classrooms for music and wellness programming, shared nonprofit offices, a podcast/TV studio, and large event space intended to produce operating revenue.

Chinook named the groups that have signed on or expressed interest: Community Counseling Centers of Southern Nevada, Entertainment Community Fund (announced to move a Las Vegas presence into the facility), Life by Music, the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, Core Academy (Rogers Foundation) for after-school programming, the Public Education Foundation and others. He said commissioner Naft, Larry Ruvo of Keep Memory Alive and actress Annette Bening attended a recent public announcement.

Budget, timeline and revenue model

Chinook said the total project cost is currently estimated at about $50 million; privately he and partners have raised roughly $2.5 million so far. Clark County provided a 100-year land lease and the project has cleared entitlements, he said. He told the committee the organizers planned to begin construction late in the year or in Q1 2026 and aimed to open by the end of 2028.

On sustainability, Chinook said the top-floor event space, parking revenues and rentable classrooms and studios are expected to generate operating income. He said the pro forma budgets assume a staff of about 35 and estimated annual administrative costs near $1.6 million–$1.8 million; revenue targets from event rentals on the top floors were cited as a primary driver to cover those costs.

Committee questions and state involvement

Senators asked whether qualified mental-health providers exist to staff the center; Chinook responded that the identified nonprofit partners (Community Counseling Centers of Southern Nevada and others) would expand staffing and that the Entertainment Community Fund would conduct a local needs assessment to match services to Las Vegas’s unique entertainment workforce.

Chinook said the organizers are seeking state assistance and that a bill (Senate Bill 178) to request a $5 million state match was on the legislature’s docket. He described the county land deal as a major in-kind contribution and said he expects gaming and hospitality employers to be asked for private support.

Ending

Chinook asked the committee to consider the project for potential state support and said the organizers would continue to provide updates; senators expressed broad interest and offered follow-up conversations with finance and appropriations committees.