Time up for All Net Resort & Arena plans

Article posted by Coliseum, November 27^th, 2023

Image: Cuningham and HKS

A new arena project planned for Las Vegas now looks dead in the water after authorities refused a further extension of a land use permit for the scheme.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal said that the Clark County Commission had unanimously voted to deny All Net Resort & Arena’s request to again extend its land use permit tied to the long-planned project on the north Strip.

The 22,800-capacity All Net Resort & Arena is a project of businessman and former baseball player Jackie Robinson. The complex was slated to encompass a resort hotel, retail and restaurant space and a multipurpose arena with a retractable roof.

Apply for membership

But commissioners in Las Vegas have become frustrated with the repeated requests to extend the land use permit and are now looking for a different project for the site.

First introduced in 2013, the $5 billion project has been delayed several times, and its proposed financial backing has changed multiple times over the past decade.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal stated that the motion to deny came from Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who had been a supporter of All Net CEO and developer Robinson, because of the lack of progress shown on the 26-acre site.

Segerblom said, “I’ve worked with Jackie (Robinson) and with the team, and I honestly believe that Jackie is a visionary. He saw the sports town before anyone else saw the sports town. He saw the NBA before anyone else saw the NBA. Truthfully I’m not sure why anyone else would not join with him to make this project viable.

“Time and time again we’ve asked just one more year, or two years, let’s get this done. We followed the money everywhere around the world, and truthfully it just hasn’t happened.”

All Net has now been given a deadline of December 6 to provide proof that it has the adequate funding to support the project.

Last year, county officials gave project developers until September to have the project underway, in what was described then as the final extension of time.

Segerblom told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the vote, “I said if the money comes in, we can reconsider it on the 6th. I made that proposal, but that would take at least four of us (commissioners) to vote yes. … At the end of the day there was always talk about a billion dollars here, a billion dollars there. … We kept extending things based upon those representations, and then at some point you have to fish or cut bait. They could just never produce the money.”

Segerblom said that another option for the site would be for the neighboring Sahara to expand their property.

Andrew Diss, senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Sahara owner Meruelo Gaming, said the gaming entity has no plans to to buy part of the land but would consider being part of a project on the site, if one presented itself.

Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.

Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.

Watch 250 member-exclusive videos with valuable tips for your venue