Until now, the Oak View Group (OVG) concentrated its business ventures on arenas. But now the group is committed to its largest project yet, a casino hotel and arena project on Las Vegas Boulevard. And to pull it off, OVG secured the services of a trio of high profile executives culled from Las Vegas institutions.
Randy Morton, who has a 20-year track record as a Bellagio executive, comes to OVG after a stint with Foley Entertainment Group, owners of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Morton will serve as president of OVG Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. OVG will construct a $3 billion entertainment complex centered around a $1 billion, 20,000-seat arena at Las Vegas Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
The project is expected to be completed in 2026.
Marc Badain, a Raiders executive who ran the business operations, helped relocate the team from Oakland, and was key to the development of Allegiant Stadium. He becomes president of OVG Las Vegas Sports & Entertainment.
The third leg in this tripod is former Wynn Macau Senior Vice President of Finance Patrick Crockett, who will serve as financial consultant to the project.
“I’m thrilled to join the team at Oak View Group and work alongside Marc,” said Morton. “As soon as (Oak View Group CEO) Tim (Leiweke) shared his vision for the Las Vegas luxury boutique hotel and casino with me, not only did I know it was going to be big, but I knew I wanted to be involved.”
Morton will be well served as former president and COO of Bellagio, where he led the resort to the first AAA Five Diamond Award.
“Adding Randy to the team continues to show the commitment that (Leiweke) and Oak View Group have made to this transformative project,” Badain said.
Prior to Wynn Macau, Crockett worked in finance positions at MGM, Bellagio and Mirage.
“Our Las Vegas project represents a critical first step for OVG in seamlessly integrating the greatest in new and innovative hotel and casino offerings with the best in arena development and live entertainment,” Tim Leiweke said. “This unprecedented project is an industry game-changer, but to do it right, that means putting the best team in place.”
Francesca Bodie, president of business development for the Oak View Group, said the three executives will be crucial to bring the project to life.
“Each understands what it takes to develop, build and open a world-class entertainment destination and we couldn’t be more delighted to welcome them aboard.”
OVG’s recent openings include the Moody Center, a $375 million, 15,000-seat venue at the University of Texas in Austin; the launch of OVG Canada; and the groundbreaking for a redevelopment project of city-owned Baltimore Arena, a $200 million privately funded 60-year-old arena, formerly known as the Baltimore Civic Center and Royal Farms Arena.
Oak View Group will break ground next year on the 25 acres of a 66 acre tract. The group has no connection to the other 41 acres. The company will operate the arena and bring in a partner to operate the hotel-casino.
“South of the Las Vegas Strip represents one of the few areas of potential future growth of the gaming and entertainment corridor,” Leiweke said at the time of the March announcement.
The site of the planned arena is next to the planned train station for Brightline’s high-speed rail between California and Las Vegas.
