{"id":6471,"date":"2013-11-06T01:45:58","date_gmt":"2013-11-06T01:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2013\/11\/06\/aeg-mgm-resorts-int-offer-1st-look-at-arena-on-vegas-strip\/"},"modified":"2013-11-06T01:45:58","modified_gmt":"2013-11-06T01:45:58","slug":"aeg-mgm-resorts-int-offer-1st-look-at-arena-on-vegas-strip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2013\/11\/06\/aeg-mgm-resorts-int-offer-1st-look-at-arena-on-vegas-strip\/","title":{"rendered":"AEG, MGM Resorts Int. offer 1st look at arena on Vegas Strip"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"
\n\tAn arena being built by AEG, a Los Angeles-based entertainment and arena management company, and MGM Resorts Internationals, is shown in this rendering of the plaza made available to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The Populous architectural firm in Kansas City, Mo. designed the arena and created the three renderings showing the building exterior. The arena will be on 12 acres behind Monte Carlo and New York-New York. (Rendering provided by AEG)<\/span><\/p>\n

\tBy ALAN SNEL
\n\tLAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
\n\tArena partners AEG and MGM Resorts International unveiled renderings Monday of their $350 million, 20,000-seat venue on the Strip, showing exterior images evoking the Strip\u2019s high energy and bright lights as well as Southern Nevada\u2019s scenic mountains and desert.<\/p>\n

\tAEG, the Los Angeles-based powerhouse entertainment and arena company, and MGM Resorts, which owns 10 Strip casino-hotels, have joined forces to build the sports and entertainment venue without public money on 12 acres between New York-New York and Frank Sinatra Drive. MGM will demolish two temporary office buildings on the site that are left over from the CityCenter project.<\/p>\n

\tGroundbreaking is expected in April or May with a projected opening 22 months later, in spring 2016, said Tim Romani, president and chief executive of Denver-based ICON Venue Group, the project manager.<\/p>\n

\tThe arena will feature premium seating, suite and club offerings on different levels as well as in bunkers below the event floor. It will host at least 100 concerts, boxing, mixed martial arts, sports, awards shows and other events each year.<\/p>\n

\tDan Beckerman, AEG president and chief executive, told the Review-Journal Monday that the building\u2019s unique features include an exterior design that weds the Strip\u2019s high-voltage glamour with the region\u2019s high desert scenery and an interior layout that offers a wide spectrum of high-end seating options.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIn Las Vegas, the design has to be iconic,\u201d said Beckerman. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be one of the most recognizable and premier venues in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPopulous, a Kansas City, Mo., architectural firm hired by AEG and MGM, created the exterior renderings of the building, which will have a 5.4-acre footprint.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWith this entertainment building in a city of entertainment buildings, we feel a responsibility to design a building that offers an amazing fan experience,\u201d said architect Brad Clark, Populous senior principal.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe arena is really the nexus for finding the balance of the natural surroundings around Las Vegas with the visual energy of the Strip. There\u2019s a very conscious effort to have the two languages merge on the building exterior,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

\tBeckerman was pleased with the result: \u201cPopulous did a great job marrying the light and energy of the Strip side and scenic desert. They brought both of the things that Las Vegas is known for into a single, unified design.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFans will enter the main entrance from a vast plaza. The entrance will feature a glass facade and video overlay nearly 12 stories tall, Clark said.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe\u2019re exploring technology for a LED media overlay in front of the glass wall,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\tIn contrast to the glittery pizazz of the arena\u2019s east side, the western side will feature an opaque design and undulating bands of metal evoking the color and layers of the mountains surrounding Las Vegas, he said.<\/p>\n

\tRomani said the main entrance exterior will feature a series of outdoor socializing areas on balconies.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPeople will enjoy an outdoor environment,\u201d he said. \u201cThe climate of Las Vegas allows us to have more outdoor balcony space. I can\u2019t think of any arena that has this much balcony space, and I think I know them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe arena will be built with high-end premium seating and hospitality areas, including multiple bunker clubs and bunker suites; in-bowl sponsor zones; VIP drop-off areas with private lobbies; a seven-story atrium and that array of balconies.<\/p>\n

\tBeckerman said the Las Vegas market demands something other than a cookie-cutter approach, which is why premium seating areas will range from suites for two to four people to clubs for more than 100 guests. And they will be located in unique spots around the arena.<\/p>\n

\tBeckerman said AEG has already talked with boxing promoters and officials with Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts company, about events at the arena. Beckerman said one of the first could be a high-level boxing match. He also envisions music and concert tours providing a healthy share of the arena\u2019s programming.<\/p>\n

\tMGM officials were also impressed.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPopulous has delivered a design for this new arena that we believe will be a stunning addition to the Las Vegas skyline,\u201d MGM chief executive Jim Murren said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\tWhile the arena is designed to accommodate NBA and NHL games, it will open without a major league basketball or hockey club as a tenant. In that regard, it\u2019s comparable to the $267 million, 6-year-old Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., an AEG-managed arena that is among the busiest in the world even without an NBA or NHL tenant.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe great thing about the building is that we\u2019re designing it for the maximum flexibility. It gives us a lot of freedom,\u201d the architect said. He noted, for example, that he\u2019s also trying to design the building to create as much seating capacity as possible for concerts and to minimize seating behind the stage.<\/p>\n

\tThe new arena will fuel speculation of major league basketball or hockey finding a home in Sin City. UNLV\u2019s Thomas & Mack Center now hosts the annual NBA Summer League in July, and teams such as the NBA Los Angeles Clippers and NHL Los Angeles Kings have played preseason games in smaller MGM arenas in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

\tAEG and MGM are paying for the arena with equity contributions and a private third-party debt financing.<\/p>\n

\tWhile AEG and MGM officials work on their arena, an 11-member UNLV stadium authority board is evaluating the need, scope and financing of a football stadium on the nearby University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. UNLV and MGM officials say their venues would not compete because the arena and the stadium would attract different acts because of their different seating capacities.<\/p>\n

\tBut UNLV could see some competition for its 30-year-old, 18,500-seat Thomas & Mack, which is getting $59.2 million in renovations, including mechanical, plumbing and electrical improvements and code upgrades such as restroom and ADA improvements.<\/p>\n

\tAEG operates more than 100 sports arenas worldwide, including the Staples Center in Los Angeles and sports venues in Minneapolis, Kansas City, Mo., and China.<\/p>\n

\tContact Alan Snel as asnel@reviewjournal.com<\/a> or 702-387-5273. Follow @BicycleManSnel on Twitter.<\/p>\n

\toriginal article http:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/business\/aeg-mgm-resorts-international-offer-first-look-arena-las-vegas-strip<\/a><\/p>\n

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An arena being built by AEG, a Los Angeles-based entertainment and arena management company, and MGM Resorts Internationals, is shown in this rendering of the plaza made available to the Las Vegas Review-Journal Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The Populous architectural…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-casino-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}