The Thomas & Mack Center is "poised to deal with the competition" it will face from "a new 20,000-seat arena set to open" on the Las Vegas strip in '16, according to Alan Snel of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Thomas & Mack Center Exec Dir Mike Newcomb said, "If we’re going to worry what everyone else is doing, we wouldn’t get anything done." AEG and MGM Resorts Int'l are "teaming up to build the $350 million venue on 12 acres between New York-New York and Frank Sinatra Drive." AEG and MGM "aim to break ground in April or May, then open the venue" in spring '16. AEG President & CEO Dan Beckerman said that he "envisioned more than 100 events a year at the arena on the Strip," potentially including musical acts, boxing and the PBR World Finals. The five-day PBR event is "held at Thomas & Mack and just finished last month." Newcomb said that the PBR finals are "under contract" for '14 at the Thomas & Mack Center, and that he expects PBR to "sign a three-year deal before next year’s finals event that would keep the high-profile event at the UNLV arena" through '17. AEG VP/Communications Michael Roth said that the company's goal is "not to 'cannibalize' the Las Vegas market but to expand the variety of offerings that come to Las Vegas so that everyone benefits" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 11/8).
