Summary
- The $3bn plans include a casino, hotel, arena, and amphitheater.
- A professional basketball franchise may call the arena home in the future.
- Randy Morton and Marc Badain are the latest hires set to work on the big project.
The Oak View Group has big plans for a 25-acre parcel near the Las Vegas Strip. The company has revealed new details of the $3 billion project, with plans to add a casino, hotel, and amphitheater. The property will also be home to a new 850,000 square foot arena that may eventually become the home of a professional basketball team for Sin City.
On top of the project plan announcement, the company’s Tim Leiweke and partner Irving Azoff provided insight into two new hires that will be pushing the Nevada casino and arena development. The OVG Las Vegas Hotel & Casino will offer a large gaming space, with 2,000 hotel rooms and the 20,000 seat arena next door.
Former Foley Entertainment Group co-CEO Randy Morton and former NFL Las Vegas Raiders president Marc Badain are the newest executives working with Oak View Group. The two will spearhead the groundbreaking of the project, which is scheduled for next year. The property should be operational by 2026.
Morton will act as the president of the hotel and casino while Badain will be the president of the OVG Las Vegas Sports & Entertainment Venues. Badain said the goal for the arena is to create the greatest arena on earth and he feels it is necessary for Las Vegas to have a professional space for sports teams.
The arena will be an NBA-ready venue but the decision to expand the league will up to the National Basketball Association.
Will the NBA Create a Team for Sin City?
Having an NBA team based in Las Vegas would be a major revenue driver for the city. Now that the Raiders have moved to the area, it makes sense for an NBA team to be created as well. Rumors have been circulating for quite some time that Las Vegas and Seattle are possible sites for the NBA to expand to.
In early June, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was asked about the potential for new teams, and he said the markets are wonderful but it is not a topic that is being discussed at the moment. For tourism officials in Las Vegas, they see an NBA team has a good option or the region.
Already the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have spent a lot of time and money on ad campaigns that show the city as the “sports capital of the world”. It will be interesting to see if the arena will become home to an NBA team in the future or if there will be other plans for the space once it is operational, along with its connected hotel and casino.
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