AEG remains confident that the new Las Vegas Stadium will host as many as 46 events per year, with the schedule for the first 12 months likely to take shape in early 2020.
The target of 46 events annually was first mentioned in the planning phase for the $1.88bn (£1.5bn/€1.7bn), 65,000-seat stadium and, although more established venues have struggled to secure such a number, Chris Wright, facilities regional vice president at AEG, believes the figure is realistic.
The stadium is already slated to host at least 16 American football home matches per year featuring either the NFL’s Raiders or the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, leaving 30 slots to be filled.
“This is a very special market,” Wright was quoted as saying by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“There’s a lot of interest. When you look at event planning and the number of folks who are looking to get into the market, I feel very confident about that number.”
Wright added that he has held positive discussions with representatives from the music and sporting industries.
“Everyone is excited,” he said. “I regularly speak with touring managers, touring entities and large concert promoters in the market, and they’re very excited to have an opportunity to come to the entertainment capital of the world in a brand-new stadium. We should be a regular touring destination for most artists on the stadium level.
“There’s a number of college events that we’re looking at, and we’ll be very active in the college sports market and the alternative sports markets. We’ll be looking to do a number of combat sports, in addition to some of the monster truck and entertainment type of events.
“When you look at the amount of programming, the different types of programming that we’re already engaged with, hitting that number doesn’t seem to be difficult at all.”
AEG was appointed as the operator of the stadium last month, with the venue set to open in August 2020 after almost three years of construction work.
In May, the budget for the development was increased by $40m, with Las Vegas Stadium Co. chief operating officer stressing that the hike had been generated by better-than-expected interest in sponsorships, stadium suites, club seats and personal seat licences.
Image: McCarthy
