A new year always brings new changes on the Las Vegas Strip, and 2016 has some big changes, including the opening of the new T-Mobile Arena.
Built and owned by MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group, T-Mobile paid $375 million for naming rights to the formerly named Las Vegas Arena, which is located on Rue de Monte Carlo, between the New York New York and Monte Carlo Casinos.
The 18,000-seat arena opens for business this year, with several concerts and other events already scheduled, and it contains restaurants and clubs for additional entertainment. It also is the anticipated future home of an NHL hockey team franchise, although a final decision awaits approval from the NHL.
Other big changes on the Las Vegas Strip include new immersive displays featuring the popular Avengers and Transformers brands at the Treasure Island casino. The attractions will occupy a 28,000-square-foot space formerly used by a pharmacy retailer and are target younger visitors and gamblers.
MGM Grand announced Topgolf International is building a four-story, 105,000-square-foot golfing venue that will have 100 bays for driving golf balls and practicing golf swings, plus pools, bars, and kitchens, plus a stage for live acts. Work is expected to be done this spring.
Further north on the Las Vegas Strip, the historic Riviera Casino is closed, and its 13 hotel towers and other structures are slated for demolition this year. The casino will be replaced by an outdoor exhibition venue that is part of the Las Vegas Convention Center’s $2.3 billion expansion.
Nearby, the struggling SLS Las Vegas has turned over control of one of its hotel towers to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which will turn the Lux tower into a W Hotel and run it as a separate operation from the casino. The move enables SLS Las Vegas to be included among Starwood Resort’s guest loyalty program, which SLS hopes will improve visitation and help turn around its $122.7 million in losses reported through the first three quarters of 2015.
Caesars Palace also announced it is making changes to one of its hotel towers, with a $75 million renovation of its Roman Tower, which the casino rebranded as the Julius Tower and opened this month. The tower’s hotel rooms have been remodeled, with new amenities and services added.
Work also continues on the Resorts World Las Vegas and Alon Las Vegas projects on the north end of the Las Vegas Strip. Resorts World Las Vegas would occupy the former Echelon development near the Wynn Resort, work on which Boyd Gaming halted as financing dried up during the Great Recession.
New owner Genting Group held a groundbreaking for the $4 billion project in May and intend to eventually open as Resorts World Las Vegas, but work has proceeded slowly, as more planning is done and permits are obtained.
