\nFloyd Mayweather Jr. was recently asked if he had any interest in being the opening act when the new MGM arena opens in spring 2016?<\/p>\n
\tAfter thinking about the question for a while, as he calculated the time frame, he finally responded.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt would be an honor, absolutely,\u201d he said. \u201cBut to tell you the truth, I haven\u2019t thought that far in advance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHis thinking might have changed Thursday, when he was part of the ceremonies behind New York-New York and the Monte Carlo for the official groundbreaking of the 20,000-seat, $375 million arena that MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group are building.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cI guess there\u2019s a first time for everything,\u201d Mayweather told the invited guests after arriving on a front-loader. \u201cHopefully, I can fill up the arena and have some fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThere\u2019s speculation the arena will serve as the anchor tenant for a National Hockey League or National Basketball Association franchise. But no such announcement was forthcoming Thursday. MGM chairman and CEO Jim Murren said the arena is prepared to operate in 2016 with or without an NHL or NBA team.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019ll make money without a home team,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we\u2019ll be relying on Dan (Beckerman, AEG CEO) to work with the leagues on possibly bringing a team to the arena.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBoxing? There\u2019s no question it will have a home at the new arena. Same for mixed martial arts with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Both combat sports could vie for the first sporting event in the new arena.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cOne thing that is missing from the Grand Garden right now is the hospitality aspect,\u201d Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said. \u201cFor the sponsors, that\u2019s an important component. In the new arena, we\u2019ll be able to accommodate our sponsors better and provide their needs. And in doing so, we will be able to attract more sponsors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tUFC president Dana White said he could see doing more shows in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIt\u2019s a game-changer,\u201d he said of the new venue. \u201cIt\u2019s important to put on a world-class show, and with the state of the art technology that will be available in this new arena, we can do that and make it a more exciting experience for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAnd if the NHL or NBA wants to come to the new arena, it will be ready to accommodate it. Los Angeles Kings president Luc Robitaille said the NHL is monitoring the arena\u2019s status and Las Vegas\u2019 viability as a potential franchise.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThere are great hockey fans here (in Las Vegas),\u201d said Robitaille, who is the team\u2019s alternate governor and thus has access to the NHL\u2019s top officials. \u201cWe\u2019ve been seeing that for years when the Kings come here to play. But this new arena, I think, puts Vegas over the top. It is going to be a great place for hockey, and we wouldn\u2019t object to the NHL putting a team here someday.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHockey is a game built on rivalries, and Vegas would be a great rival for the Kings, along with San Jose and Anaheim.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCollege basketball also figures prominently in the new arena\u2019s plans. The Pacific 12 Conference already has a relationship with the MGM by playing its conference tournament at the Grand Garden, and it probably has the inside track to securing the prime dates in March to play in the new arena.<\/p>\n
\tBasketball Hall of Famer and UCLA legend Bill Walton, who participated in Thursday\u2019s ceremonies, said: \u201cI can\u2019t believe (Pac-12 commissioner) Larry Scott hasn\u2019t signed a lifetime contract with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAnd with the Grand Garden to remain operational, it could open the door for the Mountain West to move its tournament from the Thomas &Mack Center to the new arena. Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said in a statement the league hasn\u2019t looked at leaving the T&M but would certainly explore the possibility of doing business with the new MGM arena.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe are currently contracted with the Thomas &Mack Center and UNLV through the 2016 MW Basketball Championships,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cBeyond our contractual obligations, we most certainly want to honor our longstanding partnerships that have been so instrumental in the ongoing success of our basketball tournaments in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cUNLV and the Thomas &Mack Center have been tremendously loyal and supportive, as have the LVCVA and LVE. Given our 15-plus-year relationship with MGM Resorts, it would behoove the Mountain West to investigate the possibilities involved with a new venue, but we would do so within the context of our existing partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHowever, Murren said he does not want the new arena to have a predatory stance for booking events.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWe\u2019re not going to cannibalize events that are already here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
No replies were posted for this topic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was recently asked if he had any interest in being the opening act when the new MGM arena opens in spring 2016? After thinking about the question for a while, as he calculated the time frame, he…<\/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-7329","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\/7329","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=7329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}