Climbing gym planned in former Summerlin-area movie theater

The Pad Climbing is returning to Las Vegas.

The gym, which will move into the old Regal theater on 9400 W. Sahara Ave. near Summerlin, is set to open later this year or early next, according to CEO Kristin Horowitz.

Horowitz said the location was ideal for the gym, adding that the city is her favorite place to climb “in the entire country.”

“Las Vegas is a premier destination for rock climbers,” Horowitz said. “There’s a specific place that people will anchor themselves to if they like climbing, and it’s generally anywhere in that Red Rocks corridor. So it had to be there for me.”

The 24,000-square-foot space will feature 17,000 square feet of climbing wall surface. It will house a variety of amenities, including auto belays, crack climbing features, training boards and some weight and cardio machines.

The Pad has previously tried to break into the climbing scene in Las Vegas. In 2019, the gym chain acquired Origin Climbing & Fitness in Henderson, Nevada. Horowitz said they closed the gym in 2024, after struggling with the design of the gym, its landlord and a loss of clientele as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Horowitz said that this experience helped her connect with employees and investors in the area who she said have been vital in fomenting the gym’s return.

“I don’t want to go into a community that doesn’t necessarily need or want us, and so it was pretty cool to have a really solid team that’s already embedded in Vegas, both investment wise and employee wise,” Horowitz said.

Horowitz said that although there are a variety of climbing options in Las Vegas already, she hopes the gym will “capture folks” who are looking for different amenities. She said that the gym will offer a “robust” youth program to encourage families to join and will include infrastructure for van-lifers.

The 18-screen Regal theater was known for its regular blockbuster showings before the chain’s parent company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022. Bill Bayne, whose family owns the Village Square retail plaza, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in August 2025 that he planned to turn the theater into a retail space for a mix of new tenants.

Horowitz acknowledged that an old theater is an unusual location for a climbing gym, but she said she was excited to work with the building’s “awesome architecture.”

“It has a bit of an old school theater vibe to it, and we like that way better than it just being like a clean build,” Horowitz said.

Looking forward, Horowitz said she hopes that The Pad becomes a must-visit location in Las Vegas. She added that she’d like for the gym to make up for the lack of “third spaces” that exist in the city and become a place where visitors can develop relationships.

“There’s a lot of touristy type stuff (in Las Vegas), but not so much community centered, so we’re hoping that (residents) would discover that this is a really beautiful place to have community, even if you’re not like the strongest climber,” Horowitz said.

Contact Sophie Baker at sbaker@reviewjournal.com.