Las Vegas Sands intends to build a 17,500-seat arena to be leased to the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) for 50 years.
Las Vegas Sands revealed its plans for the new arena in its most recent regulatory filing and says MSG will own the arena, while Las Vegas Sands will contribute $75 million toward construction of a pedestrian foot bridge connecting the arena to the Sands Expo Convention Center.
The 400,000-square-foot arena is to be built along Sands Avenue, between Koval Lane and Manhattan Street. Las Vegas Sands would have first dibs on offering ticket and hotel packages and other promotions for special events, plus have free use of the facility for conventions and other events.
A partnership will build the arena and includes Las Vegas Sands, MSG, Live Nation Entertainment, Oak View Group, and Azoff MSG Entertainment CEO Irving Azoff.
Las Vegas Sands principal shareholder Sheldon Adelson in a statement said “a state-of-the-art venue designed, built and exclusively dedicated to bringing the world’s greatest musical and entertainment acts to Las Vegas is the type of development we should all be excited about.”
Although MGM Resorts International and AEG Entertainment recently opened the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, Adelson says the proposed arena would put all seats in front of the stage and include luxury seats and exclusive lounges and clubs for viewing events.
Adelson anticipates the arena hosting large event tours, artist residencies, and other world-class entertainment productions, as well as sporting events like boxing and mixed martial arts.
Adelson said the venue would help Las Vegas remain a “leading international tourist destination,” while drawing world-class entertainment to the Las Vegas Strip.
Las Vegas attracted more than 42 million visitors last year and is expected to top that number this year, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is working to boost international visitation to Las Vegas and international participation in conventions and exhibitions.
Las Vegas Sands President Rob Goldstein says the company is looking to grow its share of the Las Vegas entertainment industry, and the arena project complements the 65,000-seat stadium it also wants built.
Goldstein says Las Vegas Sands also might build similar entertainment venues to complements its properties in Macau and Singapore.
Las Vegas Sands estimates its share of the Macau entertainment market could grow from $6.4 billion last year to up to $14 billion within 10 years.
In addition to building the proposed arena, Adelson and Las Vegas Sands, along with partner Majestic Realty, are strong supporters of a push to build a 65,000-seat domed stadium near the Las Vegas Strip.
An initial proposal would build the stadium on a 42-acre lot owed by UNLV on the north side of Tropicana Avenue and across from McCarran International Airport.
Initial studies indicate the stadium could be built there without interfering with airport operations, so long as no tall structures are built along the property’s western perimeter.
With Las Vegas Sands now pursuing an arena project with MSG and others, Goldstein now says the Tropicana Avenue location is no good for the stadium due to its proximity to the airport and potential traffic issues.
Instead, Las Vegas Sands now wants the stadium built on the site of the former Riviera Casino, which is slated for demolition this summer.
The LVCVA paid $183 million to buy the Riviera in 2015 and intend to build an outdoor exhibition area on the site and make room for an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Although Las Vegas Sands operates a competing convention center, LVCVA President and CEO Rossi Ralenkotter said a potential partnership with Las Vegas Sands and others to build a stadium on the Riviera parcel and expand the Las Vegas Convention Center might work.
The stadium would cost an estimated $1.4 billion to build, and Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis has pledged $550 million toward that amount. He says he wants to move his team to Las Vegas, if he can get 23 other NFL team owners to approve the move.
But, that requires a stadium, and Adelson wants public funding for $750 million of the construction cost, while Las Vegas Sands and Majestic Realty would chip in $150 million.
Adelson wants to use room tax revenues to build the stadium, and the LVCVA currently collects about $600 million per year in room tax revenues. But the LVCVA needs money for its $2.3 billion, 10-year expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Las Vegas Sands and Majestic Realty want the state to raise the room tax by 0.9 percent, or about $1.08 per night in a hotel.
Whether or not the state does raise the room tax and whether or not the funds would help pay for proposed stadium largely hedges on the recommendations of the ad-hoc Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval created the committee and tasked it with investigating tourism infrastructure needs in Southern Nevada, and high on its list is a new stadium to replace the aging Sam Boyd Stadium.
The decades-old stadium consistently ranks among the worst venues of its kind in the United States, and is located several miles east of the UNLV campus.
UNLV wants a new stadium for its football team, and the tourism infrastructure committee is slated to make recommendations to Sandoval next month. The Nevada Legislature is scheduled to convene next year, and stadium funding could be among projects targeted for public funding.
Meanwhile, Davis says the Raiders are conducting market research to determine the viability of locating in Las Vegas.
Davis says initial results are positive for a move to Las Vegas, which is necessitated by Davis’ inability to strike a deal to keep his NFL franchise in Oakland. The Raiders have a year-long lease in place to play at the Oakland Coliseum and options for two more years.
After that, the team needs a new home, and Davis is hoping it will be in Las Vegas. Among NFL team executives expressing support for a potential Raiders move to Las Vegas is New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
While there is a great deal of talk about moving the Raiders to Las Vegas, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the Raiders have not submitted any proposals to the league.
Goodell also says it’s possible the Davis will work out his franchise’s differences with local officials in Oakland and remain in the Bay Area.
If the Raiders should move to Las Vegas, however, the NFL might rethink its rules on player gambling. Currently, there are no restrictions against legal casino gaming.
But with the potential for 53 professional football players living in Las Vegas, and many likely staying in Las Vegas Strip hotels, there is a high potential for problem gambling among pro football players.
Studies show young male professional athletes are particularly susceptible to problem gambling, but the American Gaming Association also points out that every NFL team currently plays its games within an hour of at least one gaming casino. Many professional athletes also routinely make trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
The proliferation of casino gaming across the country weakens the NFL’s defacto ban on Las Vegas events, and supporters of a Raiders move to Las Vegas suggest the NFL simply needs to revise its policies to address problem gambling league-wide, as well as in Las Vegas.
