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T-Mobile Arena

This article is about the arena in Las Vegas. Not to be confused with T-Mobile Center, T-Mobile Park, or G-Mobile Arena.

T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), T-Mobile Arena is situated on the Las Vegas Strip behind the New York-New York and Park MGM casino hotels.

T-Mobile Arena
The Fortress
T-Mobile Arena in 2016
T-Mobile Arena is located in Las Vegas Strip
T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena
Location in Paradise
T-Mobile Arena is located in Nevada
T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena
Location in Nevada
T-Mobile Arena is located in the United States
T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena
Location in the United States
Former namesLas Vegas Arena (planning/construction)
Address3780 South Las Vegas Boulevard
LocationParadise, Nevada, United States
Coordinates36°06′10″N 115°10′42″W / 36.10278°N 115.17833°W / 36.10278; -115.17833
Public transitMonorail Las Vegas Monorail
at MGM Grand
Bus interchange RTC Transit routes 201, 301, 502, 605, 606, 607, 608, 902
Owner
OperatorMGM Resorts International[2]
CapacityOverall: 20,000
Basketball: 18,000
Boxing/MMA/Pro Wrestling: 20,000
Ice hockey: 17,500
Concerts: 12,000–20,000[3]
Acreage16 acres (6.5 ha)
Construction
Broke groundMay 1, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-05-01)
OpenedApril 6, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-04-06)
Construction cost$375 million
ArchitectPopulous
Project managerICON Venue Group
Structural engineerThornton Tomasetti
Services engineerME Engineers
General contractorPenta Building Group
Hunt Construction Group
Tenants
Vegas Golden Knights (NHL) (2017–present)
Ultimate Fighting Championship (2016–present)
Las Vegas Aces (2024)
Website
t-mobilearena.com

T-Mobile Arena has hosted various sports and entertainment events, with the latter including concerts, award shows, and beauty pageants. The arena has also hosted various combat sport events, including mixed martial arts (MMA), boxing, and professional wrestling. MMA promoter Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) signed a long-term tenancy agreement with T-Mobile Arena in 2017, under which it agreed to host four events per-year over the next seven years.

History

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The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) first tried to build an arena in Las Vegas in association with Harrah's Entertainment. In 2007, the joint venture announced they would build a 20,000 seat stadium behind the Bally's and Paris casino-hotels.[4] Caesars Entertainment had previously envisioned using the location to build a baseball park, but the company's buyout by Harrah's cancelled the plans. Through the following year, Harrah's became uncertain on continuing with the project, not knowing if AEG would split the costs, and whether building a major league-ready stadium without a guaranteed franchise to play on it would be feasible given the enduring financial crisis.[5] The original plans were to break ground in June 2008 and finish the arena in 2010, but by 2009, it was revealed that the stalled project had not even done a traffic study despite being located near a busy intersection.[6] In 2010, the plans were changed to use an area behind the Imperial Palace. However, given the financing would require a special taxation district, opposition from Clark County regarding using public money in the project stalled it even further.[7] AEG eventually backed out completely by 2012, once MGM Resorts International came up with their own project using a terrain behind the New York-New York and Monte Carlo resorts. This attracted AEG primarily for not relying on public funding.[8]

MGM and AEG announced their joint arena plan on March 1, 2013.[9] Plans were further fleshed out over the following months with the announcement of a $100-million pedestrian shopping area, The Park, to serve as a gateway to the arena,[10] and the retention of prominent sports architecture firm Populous to design the project.[11] Other firms on the project include: the ICON Venue Group,[12] Thornton Tomasetti,[13] ME Engineers,[14] Penta Building Group and Hunt Construction Group.[15]

The project broke ground on May 1, 2014,[16] followed by the demolition of existing buildings, and excavation of an oval area for the arena. The final steel beam of the structure was placed on May 27, 2015.[17]

In January 2016, T-Mobile US announced that it had acquired the naming rights to the new arena in a multi-year contract.[18][19] The arena held its grand opening on April 6, 2016, with a concert by Las Vegas natives The Killers, Shamir and Wayne Newton.[20] Country music artists Martina McBride and Cam performed at a soft opening on March 31, 2016.[21]

In 2016, the National Hockey League awarded an expansion team to a Las Vegas ownership group led by Bill Foley, with T-Mobile Arena as its home venue.[22] As part of the team's lease, Foley negotiated an option to buy a stake in the arena from MGM and AEG.[1] He exercised that option in September 2016, buying a 15 percent interest for around $35 million.[1][23]

  •  
    Interior of venue, shown on March 31, 2016
  •  
    Interior during a hockey game
  •  
    T-Mobile Arena at night
  •  
    U2 at T-Mobile Arena
  •  
    T-Mobile Arena

Tenants

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During its construction, T-Mobile Arena was pointed to as the home arena for a possible National Hockey League expansion team in Las Vegas.[24][25][26] The expansion bid was approved and announced by the NHL on June 22, 2016; the new team, the Vegas Golden Knights, began play in the 2017–18 season.[22][27]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship's first event at the venue was UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes, held on July 9, 2016.[28] In March 2017, the UFC signed a seven-year agreement to become an official tenant of T-Mobile Arena. The promotion agreed to host at least four events per-year at the facility, in exchange for receiving permanent retail space and signage.[29]

The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) World Finals moved to T-Mobile Arena in 2016, moving from the Thomas & Mack Center,[30] followed by the Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament, which moved from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.[31] The PBR World Finals were held at T-Mobile Arena from 2016 to 2019, and again in 2021. Since 2022, the arena is home to the PBR Team Series Championship.[32]

The UNLV men's basketball team played at least one game at T-Mobile Arena in each of the first three seasons after the venue's opening. The Runnin' Rebels played and lost to Duke in December 2016,[33] defeated Rice and Utah in successive games in November 2017,[34] and defeated BYU in November 2018.[35]

The Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA have played several games at T-Mobile Arena since 2023. The team drew 17,406 spectators to their first game at T-Mobile Arena, played on September 10, 2023, against the Phoenix Mercury, and also hosted a WNBA Playoffs game at the arena three days later. The Aces' primary home at Michelob Ultra Arena was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict.[36] Two 2024 regular season games will be played at T-Mobile Arena.[37]

Notable events

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Main article: List of events at T-Mobile Arena

In addition to Golden Knights games and UFC events, a number of major sporting events have been held at the arena, including boxing matches such as Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin and Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor. By virtue of the Golden Knights winning the 2017–18 Western Conference finals, it also played host to three games of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals, between the Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals, including the cup-clinching fifth game which awarded the Capitals their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

The arena hosted three games of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals between the Golden Knights and the Florida Panthers, culminating in a 9-3 Game 5 win for the Golden Knights on June 13, 2023.

The arena has hosted nationally televised entertainment events such as the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the Latin Grammy Awards, and the Miss USA beauty pageant. It is also a stop on many national concert tours, and hosts Strait to Vegas, a concert residency by George Strait.

WWE hosted the first professional wrestling event at the arena in June 2016, with its Money in the Bank pay-per-view.[38] All Elite Wrestling (AEW) made its debut at the arena with Double or Nothing in 2022, which was the promotion's first event to exceed $1 million in gate revenue.[39]

The semifinals and final game of the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament were held at T-Mobile Arena. The Arena is scheduled to host the tournament again in 2024 now branded as the NBA Cup.[40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Kaplan, Daniel (October 3, 2016). "NHL's Vegas owner buys share of arena". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). MGM Resorts International. March 1, 2018. p. 72 – via EDGAR.
  3. ^ "Quick Facts". T-Mobile Arena. Retrieved July 6, 2016.
  4. ^ "Vegas, baby? Arena envisioned to draw pro team to city". ESPN. August 23, 2007.
  5. ^ Benston, Liz (September 27, 2008). "Harrah's still wants arena, but how much will it pay?". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved September 5, 2010.
  6. ^ "Insiders Tight Lipped on Las Vegas Arena". 8NewsNow.com. January 20, 2009. Archived from the original on April 14, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  7. ^ Las Vegas foundation drops arena effort
  8. ^ "MGM & AEG Building a 20,000-Seat Arena on the Las Vegas Strip". Billboard. Associated Press. June 19, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "MGM Resorts announces plan for 20,000-seat arena". Las Vegas Sun. March 1, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  10. ^ Stutz, Howard (April 18, 2013). "MGM has grand plans with trendy plaza, sports arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  11. ^ Snel, Alan (June 18, 2013). "World-famed architect announced for MGM arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  12. ^ Snel, Alan (November 5, 2013). "AEG, MGM Resorts International Offer First Look at Arena on Las Vegas Strip". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  13. ^ Jones, Jenny (February 18, 2014). "New Arena Design Reflects Las Vegas's Milieu". Civil Engineering. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  14. ^ "Designing a Winning Sports Venue". Consulting-Specifying Engineer. April 27, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  15. ^ Robison, Jennifer (December 22, 2013). "Las Vegas Construction Poised to Prosper in 2014". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  16. ^ Snel, Alan (May 1, 2014). "Shovels in the Ground, Confetti in the Air as MGM/AEG Arena Construction Begins". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  17. ^ Snel, Alan (May 27, 2015). "Construction workers install final beam at MGM arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  18. ^ "Introducing T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas". T-Mobile US. January 7, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  19. ^ Snel, Alan (January 7, 2016). "T-Mobile buys naming rights to new Las Vegas arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  20. ^ Casper, Ashley (April 1, 2016). "What others are saying about T-Mobile Arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. News + Media Capital Group LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  21. ^ "Martina McBride plays private concert at T-Mobile Arena stress test". Las Vegas Review-Journal. April 1, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  22. ^ a b Carp, Steve (June 22, 2016). "Las Vegas awarded NHL expansion team". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  23. ^ Form 10-K: Annual Report (Report). MGM Resorts International. March 1, 2018. p. 82 – via EDGAR.
  24. ^ "NHL says no credibility to report of Las Vegas expansion team". Las Vegas Sun. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  25. ^ "NHL denies expansion report, including a second team in Toronto". Toronto Star. August 27, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  26. ^ "Gallagher: Bettman has changed his tune on NHL expansion". The Province. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  27. ^ Rosen, Dan (June 22, 2016). "Las Vegas awarded NHL franchise". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
  28. ^ Dave Doyle (September 4, 2015). "UFC 200 set for July 9, 2016 at new Las Vegas Arena". mmafighting.com. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  29. ^ Hill, Adam (March 3, 2017). "UFC to be an anchor tenant at T-Mobile Arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  30. ^ "PBR moves Built Ford Tough Series World Finals to new Las Vegas Arena in 2016". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  31. ^ "Pac-12 Tournament will move to larger Las Vegas arena in 2017". Deseret News. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  32. ^ "PBR Team Series Championship at T-Mobile Arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. November 3, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  33. ^ "2016–17 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNLV Rebels. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  34. ^ "2017–18 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNLV Rebels. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  35. ^ "2018–19 Men's Basketball Schedule". UNLV Rebels. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  36. ^ Yamashita, Andy (September 12, 2023). "Aces enjoy experience of playing at T-Mobile Arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  37. ^ Anderson, Mark (May 17, 2024). "Las Vegas Aces sell out a WNBA-record 15 of 20 home games". Las Vegas Sun. Associated Press. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  38. ^ Caldwell, James. "6/19 WWE MITB PPV Results – CALDWELL'S Complete Live Report". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  39. ^ Currier, Joseph (March 4, 2022). "AEW announces its first-ever $1 million gate". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, AEW News, AEW results. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  40. ^ "Emirates NBA Cup: Key dates & schedule". NBA.com. August 13, 2024.

38. Gervonta Davis vs Ryan Garcia https://www.cbssports.com/boxing/news/gervonta-davis-vs-ryan-garcia-fight-pay-per-view-numbers-live-gate-exceed-expectations-in-las-vegas/

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