T-Mobile Arena finishes first year with strong reception
Dan Quinn knew before the T-Mobile Arena opened a year ago this week that the building was going to be a home run for its owners as well as the community.
By all accounts, it’s been that and more.
“We took a wait-and-see approach as construction was progressing, but we got an early sense of things when we started giving tours to potential clients, other facility managers, sports teams and people in our industry,” said Quinn, the vice president and general manager of the 20,000-seat venue co-owned by MGM Resorts International and the Anschutz Entertainment Group.
Once opening night arrived and the Killers, Wayne Newton and Shamir hit the stage, everything the development team had hoped for was validated.
“It’s always great to have nice renderings to show to people, but when you take people inside and the place actually looks like the pictures, it’s very special,” Quinn said. “There have been a few breathless moments, but now everything we had hope for has come through.”
Quinn said he can’t pick one single event to point to as the signature highlight for the first year of operations. But he knows there’s bound to be at least one more big event when T-Mobile ushers in the era of major-league sports with the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights in the fall.
“In the first year, we had quite a variety of events and we want to build on that,” he said. “We’re starting that this weekend with George Strait. But opening night for the Golden Knights … that may be the hardest ticket in town to get.”
T-Mobile will mark the first anniversary of the facility Thursday with an event to give back to the community. MGM and Bank of America sponsored the construction of a new home in Toshiba Plaza with Habitat for Humanity.
Some 120 volunteers will build the the house and, after a ceremony, the house was scheduled to be moved to Henderson where 29 homes already have been completed.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.
Landmark T-Mobile dates
-April 6, 2016 — Grand opening with The Killers, Wayne Newton and Shamir
-April 8-9, 2016 — Opening weekend: Guns N' Roses reunites for first time in 23 years for Not in This Lifetime Tour
-May 7, 2016 — First boxing card: Canelo Alvarez vs. Amir Khan
-May 22, 2016 — Billboard Music Awards
-June 5, 2016 — Miss USA 2016
-July 9, 2016 — First UFC event, UFC 200; record attendance for a UFC event, 18,202
-July 30, 2016 — First installation of ice
-Oct. 7, 2016 — First National Hockey League game, Frozen Fury exhibition, Dallas Stars vs. Los Angeles Kings
-Oct. 29, 2016 — Kanye West, record concert attendance of 18,100
-Nov. 22, 2016 — Vegas Golden Knights name announcement
-Dec. 30, 2016 — Record attendance for UFC 207, 18,533
-March 3, 2017 — UFC Las Vegas becomes T-Mobile Arena anchor tenant
-March 8, 2017 — First sports and entertainment facility in Las Vegas to receive LEED Green Building certification
-March 8-11, 2017 — Pac-12 basketball tournament, record attendance of 86,910 over four days, beats 2007 record of 84,477
Arena facts
■ Construction cost: $375 million
■ Capacity: 20,000 (18,000 for basketball, 17,500 for ice hockey)
■ Land: 16 acres
■ Construction period: 707 days (Groundbreaking, May 1, 2014)
■ Record attendance: 18,533 (for UFC 207, Dec. 30, 2016)
First-year events:
■ Concerts: 22
■ Basketball games/tournaments: 7
■ UFC events: 4
■ Hockey games: 3
■ Boxing matches: 2
■ Award shows: 4
■ Other events: 7
