New arena in Las Vegas will fill entertainment need

By Tim Dahlberg

AP Sports Writer

LAS VEGAS

The newest addition to the glittering Las Vegas Strip debuts next week without a slot machine or a blackjack table in sight.

No NHL team, either, but that doesn’t stop MGM officials from believing they will hit the jackpot with a new $375 million arena that sits in the middle of all the best action this gambling town has to offer.

“We’re ready for an NHL team,” said Rick Arpin, senior vice president of entertainment for MGM Resorts International. “But our primary motivation was not for a pro sports team. We built this building to get events we couldn’t do otherwise, and pro sports certainly fits in that.”

The T-Mobile Arena opens next week in a very Vegas way, with the hometown Killers headlining along with, of all people, Wayne Newton as a special guest. Once inside, concert-goers will find amenities no one could have imagined when Mr. Las Vegas opened as a lounge act downtown in 1958, including an 18,000-square-foot nightclub that will offer bottle service, DJs and dazzling views of the Strip.

The opener will be followed quickly by two highly anticipated concerts by a reunited Guns N’ Roses, the first the group has played together in 23 years.

A few weeks later, Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez faces off against Amir Khan in a Cinco de Mayo spectacular. Come summer, the UFC will be taking up residency with one of its big pay-per-view shows in an arena that will seat 20,000 for combat sports.

That’s a good year for many arenas. But Arpin says it’s just the start for this one, sandwiched behind the New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts and joined to the Strip by a pedestrian park that adds a touch of greenery to the famed tourist boulevard.

With three other arenas nearby there wouldn’t seem to be a need for another one. But Arpin said the size and amenities of T-Mobile Arena will help the city get events it was missing before.

“With all the great facilities we have, what we were missing is the sort of modern facility that could get us events incremental to the market,” he said. “The big events, the big concerts they want the premier buildings and this puts us in that echelon.”

In addition to the nightclub there are the obligatory suites and premium seating areas designed to maximize the money spent by every ticket holder. There are also eight premium event level suites, with one still available at a cool $1 million a year.