With a flurry of activity on stadium venues, Las Vegas to host 2nd Coliseum Summit Americas in 2016

Las Vegas is witnessing quite a bit of activity on the stadium venues front. With the city breaking new grounds, quite literally, on a range of projects, the MJR Group has announce that it will host the 2nd Coliseum Summit Americas – a top name in international stadium conferences – in Las Vegas on March 29-30 2016.

Here, we take a bird’s eye view of the stadium, arena and ballpark proposals in the Las Vegas area.

 
MGM Resorts International-Anschutz Entertainment Group Arena

The privately financed $375 million arena that is shoehorned on 14.5 acres behind the New York-New York garage is set to open in April. The arena has also been a key driver in the bid for Las Vegas’ first major-league sports team — a National Hockey League franchise that could be approved by the NHL Board of Governors in January to start in 2017-18.

 
Jackie Robinson Arena Next to SLS Las Vegas

The groundbreaking of Las Vegas businessman Jackie Robinson’s $1.4 billion arena and hotel project on the north end of the Strip took place in late October 2014. Since the groundbreaking for the retractable roof arena more than eight months ago, there have been no signs of construction of the $690 million, 22,000-seat arena and 500-room non-gambling hotel. But a proposed development agreement between Robinson and Clark County is expected to go before the Clark County commissioners in September.

 
Thomas & Mack Center

Las Vegas’ long-time signature sports and entertainment arena on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus is undergoing a $72 million facelift that will widen the concourse, add bathrooms and create better traffic flow. TMC will soon be competing against a new arena two miles away on the Strip, so it was time to make some improvements. TMC did score a big win when Las Vegas Events and the arena signed a deal to keep the National Finals Rodeo at Thomas & Mack. And the arena also plays host to another major event — the NBA Summer League, which shattered attendance records in July.

 
Las Vegas 51s Ballpark

The 51s play at Cashman Field, which team owners say is antiquated and lacking amenities offered at other Triple-A baseball parks. The new owners, Summerlin Las Vegas Baseball Club LLC, floated a proposal asking the city, Clark County and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to join forces and fund a new ballpark in Summerlin. But that trio, so far, is not interested in using public dollars for a new 51s ballpark. Word doing the round is that Summerlin community developer Howard Hughes Corp. and investors Chris Kaempfer, Steve Mack and Bart Wear may build their own ballpark near Red Rock Resort and Downtown Summerlin in four years or so.

 
Cashman Field and Pro Soccer in Las Vegas?

There is a development group pitching the city on rebuilding Cashman Field into a soccer venue as a step toward drawing a Major League Soccer team to Las Vegas. Watt Companies has joined with Ader Investment Management in a bid to redevelop Cashman Field for soccer and also rebuild the stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard from US 95 to Cashman for housing, offices and retail. Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who would love a major league team in the city, said she’s willing to hear more about the Cashman Field soccer proposal.

 
UNLV Football Stadium

Before UNLV starts lobbying and fundraising for a $523 million, 45,000-seat campus football stadium, the university has to first buy the land for the venue. And that’s no easy job. The university’s nonprofit fundraising arm, the UNLV Foundation, has an option to buy 42 acres at Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane by Dec 18, and then the foundation would transfer the option on the property to UNLV. The football stadium is also taking a back seat to priority No. 1 at UNLV — finding funding for a new medical school. So, expect the UNLV football team to continue playing its games at Sam Boyd Stadium, a functional stadium with not too many fancy amenities, for the foreseeable future.

 
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal

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