The Evel Knievel Experience Has Landed in Las Vegas
If you grew up in the ’70s watching a sequin-caped stuntman on ABC’s Wide World of Sports either triumphantly clear a row of Mack trucks or spectacularly wipe out in front of millions of (maybe a little too) gleeful Saturday afternoon viewers, then congratulations: your people have finally built you a church. The Evel Knievel Experience opened its doors today in Downtown Las Vegas’ Arts District, and it is exactly as bonkers, dazzling, and surprisingly moving as the man himself.
by Staci Layne Wilson
I attended last night’s kick-off party and museum preview, and let me tell you: there is everything Evel here. And I do mean everything. Childhood lunchboxes share real estate with actual stunt rockets. The motorcycles that Knievel rode into the history books (and occasionally into the pavement) gleam under gallery lighting. His wife Linda’s fur coat holds court like the Vegas royalty it is. This is not some dusty shrine in a strip mall. This place has scale, soul, and-crucially-a sense of humor.
Case in point: there’s a full display of all of Evel’s pain medications. Given that the man broke over 40 bones during his career and earned a Guinness World Record for it, that’s quite the pharmaceutical showcase. Nearby, illustrated skeletons depict his many injuries in a style that can only be described as Operation the board game gone Full Daredevil, and a recreation of his infamous head-over-handlebars wipeout is staged with the kind of cheerful dramatic flair that Knievel himself would have appreciated. The man always understood that the crash was part of the show!
The layout is genuinely impressive. The warehouse space is massive, with a whole downstairs floor dedicated to the big stuff: cars, motorcycles, rocket prototypes, ramps. There’s a well-stocked gift shop (obviously), and then upstairs you’ll find a fully curated museum experience packed with esoterica ranging from personal documents and photographs to artifacts that feel like they belong in the Smithsonian (and arguably should be). The THEA Award-winning collection (that’s the Themed Entertainment Association, the folks who recognize world-class immersive experiences) originated as the Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas in 2017, but Las Vegas is clearly where it was always meant to live.
Today’s grand opening festival runs until 2 p.m. and is free to attend, with professional stunt rider Austin Winters performing gravity-defying tribute shows at noon, and 1 p.m. Add live music, food trucks, and a custom motorcycle show, and you’ve got a Saturday that would have made Evel himself nod approvingly from beneath that eagle helmet.
General admission runs $35, with discounts for locals (yes, us!), military, groups, and kids. Children 5 and under are free, making this a genuinely great option for visitors you’re desperately trying to entertain. Parking is available on-site for $4 an hour, and in the Arts District, that alone feels like a minor miracle.
There is so much to take in that one visit won’t cut it. Go today for the spectacle, then go back when it’s quieter to read every placard. Evel Knievel once said, “You come to see me die.” What he actually gave people was something far more interesting: a reason to believe that audacity, showmanship, and sheer American nerve are their own reward.
The Experience is open daily beginning at 10 a.m. More at ekexperience.com.
