MGM Resorts Senior VP/Partnerships & Event Marketing Scott Voeller said that the arena being built by the company on the Las Vegas Strip in partnership with AEG "will offer venue booking flexibility" to the company, which "also owns the Mandalay Bay Events Center and the MGM Grand Garden arena," according to Alan Snel of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Voeller, speaking yesterday the '14 NASCAR Motorsports Marketing Forum, said that the 20,000-seat arena "would also like to host regional games for the NCAA Tournament," although it is "too small to host an NCAA basketball Final Four." Snel notes UFC and boxing promoters "have said they would like to christen the venue." But AEG President & CEO Dan Beckerman said that he "envisions a slate of different opening events over several weeks to inaugurate the building." Snel notes the arena "has fueled chatter" about launching an NHL team in Las Vegas. Groups interested in starting NBA or NHL teams in the new arena are "talking to MGM Resorts and AEG officials." Voeller said that the facility "will be built to NBA and NHL specifications and will open ready to host a professional franchise." Meanwhile, Snel notes the MGM Grand Garden Arena currently is "home to many UFC fight show events, major boxing bouts and the Pac 12 Conference basketball tournament." Voeller said that those events "will not necessarily move to the new arena because it will depend on dates and availability" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 12/4).
