Popular Las Vegas indoor swap meet expanding

Fantastic Indoor Swap Meet is getting its first expansion in 34 years starting later this month.

"The indoor area is full, it's been full," said owner Doug Kays. "There are vacancies that happen every week. There's kind of a rotation that happens. So we just felt that it was time."

Currently, there are 220 vendors with 505 booths and 20 vacant spots.

On Sept. 28, Fantastic will be expanding outside and will be holding its first event by 702 Market, which was previously held at Arizona Charlie's Casino. The indoor swap meet is 90,000 square feet and the new expansion will have three new 34,000, 30,000 and 18,000 square feet plots in its parking lot.

Fantastic's property at 1717 S Decatur Blvd. is 15.5 acres, but the building only takes up 3 acres. They also have over 1,200 parking spaces but only around 680 are needed to satisfy code requirements.

The swap meet has been approached for outdoor events but had to go through Las Vegas City Council to acquire a special permit. With the expansion, Fantastic will no longer have to go through the City Council to hold events.

The new outside expansion will help small businesses get started and rent outside spaces for events without committing to a full month, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Kays said. Indoor vendors rent monthly, whereas vendors outside will be able to rent for a cheaper rate for the duration of the weekend events.

"I refer to them as 'incubator retailers,'" Kays said. "Going outside with day events allows them to get their feet wet and get their business started."

The price for renting for outdoor events will be "around one-twelfth" of the price of monthly rates which start at $600, according to Kays.

Expansion plans have already been approved by the planning commission and will go to City Council on Oct. 16.