Zappos Celebrates Las Vegas City Hall Deal with Flash Mob

Las Vegas city government is moving locations and Zappos couldn’t be happier about it. The online shoe retailer based in Henderson, Nevada, yesterday received local officials' blessing to the e-tailer's amended deal to take over the Las Vegas City Hall building and relocate its corporate headquarters to downtown Vegas.

This is part of the city’s continued attempt to redevelop itself, and revitalize its local economy. As the Las Vegas Sun notes, Zappos' plan is to make the city's "downtown and Fremont Street East a mecca for music, food, affordable housing and other cultural amenities."

Zappos isn't buying City Hall from the city of Las Vegas; Resort Gaming Group will buy the building and lease it to the online shoe retailer. Mayor Oscar Goodman called the transaction a “game changer,” the local Fox TV affiliate notes.

Ahead of the city council's vote on the final terms of the sale yesterday, Zappos employees showed up at the meeting with their (what else?) dancing shoes. The cheering bunch then began boogieing en masse to celebrate the big sale. And big is the word.

The retailer will be spending $18 million to lease and occupy the 11-story building, down from the original $25 million the company had agreed to pay. The drop in price came about due to Zappos increasing the number of employees it would relocate downtown from 1,000 to 1,2000 and the fact that the company has promised to put $65 million toward renovating the building rather than $43 million.