Commission approves $5,000 match to study Johnny Tocco’s boxing gym for historic nomination

The Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission voted March 25 to provide $5,000 in commission funds as a local match for a State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) grant to hire a consultant to prepare a National Register of Historic Places nomination for Johnny Tocco’s boxing gym at 9 West Charleston Boulevard.

Seaburn, speaking for staff, said the SHPO grant request is for $7,200 and the full consultant contract would be about $12,200. “We ask SHPO for $7,200, and we would like to match that with HPC funds at the amount of $5,000,” Seaburn said. Staff proposed a contract to pay a cultural resource management firm to research the building’s history, draft the nomination and submit it to SHPO.

Commissioners discussed the building’s social and sporting history as the rationale for the study. Commissioner Grimmer said the gym’s role in Las Vegas boxing history justified pursuing the facts. Commissioner Levine expressed caution about promotional history online and asked whether the owner understood what listing could mean; Seaburn said she had spoken with owner Jimmy Smith and explained the implications, noting that a national listing does not itself prevent demolition and that local register protections would apply only if the property is placed on the city’s local register.

Commissioner Stodle moved to approve item 26-0132HPC1 to fund the local match and to include in the scope that the consultant would recommend whether the property qualifies for nomination. The motion carried with the chair voting in favor.

Next steps: staff will execute a contract for the consultant work, complete the research and draft the nomination. The commission emphasized the study should prioritize establishing verifiable historical facts about the gym and its community role; whether the building ultimately qualifies for the National Register will depend on the consultant’s findings and SHPO review.