Why Is This Illinois Mall Still Open With Literally No Stores Left?

I don't know.  I really have no idea how this mall is still open to the public.

If a mall was open and had literally no stores left to shop at, why keep the lights on?  Who is actually shopping at a mall with barely any stores left?  This Illinois mall in Moline was once a thriving shopping center for decades.. until nearly 180 tenants closed up shop for reasons we'll probably never know.

Southpark Mall - Moline, Illinois

"Once boasting 5 anchors, 180 inline tenants, and a massive food court. Southpark today sits quiet, empty, and void of life."

From reading a ton of comments on the YouTube video attached below, a ton of people said they would travel from outside their small towns to shop at Southpark Mall.

They all basically said it's sad to see die out because this mall had potential to be something much bigger than it once was.

On February 27th, 1974 during their grand opening, Southpark Mall gave shoppers the freedom to explore all their favorite stores all in one place.

It seemed to be a huge success and the expansion started growing with new restaurants and retail stores.

"Looking around, I'm so surprised this place is still open at all as it doesn't look like anything is even close to opening in here and workers in existing places are just here for the paycheck as no one is here to visit them or buy stuff." - Albert Gourrier

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Agreed, in this entire video there's not even a handful of people walking around and BARELY any employees to be seen.  What's actually keeping this shopping mall open?

The arcade room would normally be PACKED with kids and all their tokens ready to play all the machines, but what a sad sight to see.

No kids, no life, no anything.

The vlogger even goes into the arcade room and it's not like any of the machines were working anyway.  Half the arcade games were turned off... probably from being sat idle for too long.

Based on the photos, I can't believe anybody is getting paid from working at the few shops that are still there.

JCPenney is still operating, but I have a feeling they'll be one of the next to say bye, bye!  I've never understood how giant stores like this retailer are still thriving with the amount of merchandise they sell - especially in a shopping mall.

I'll leave you with this ironic message that can be found inside the Southpark Mall in Moline, Illinois today.

Have you been to this mall?  If so, tell me your experience or thoughts on what the city could do to utilize this space to its full potential!

Watch the video below to see the sadness and emptiness inside the Southpark Mall in Moline.  Can it be saved or is it too late?