By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com
The Las Vegas sports market has caused quite a buzz across the country thanks to its sparkling sports venues like T-Mobile Arena and the Las Vegas Aviators’ baseball park, with the biggest of all — the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium — poised to debut in 2020.
But the Las Vegas entertainment industry is built upon an impressive array of venues from Orleans Arena and South Point Arena to even smaller venues that can showcase niche sports events in an elegant way with atmosphere.
Such was the case Saturday night, when The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas’ Chelsea Theater was converted into a small boxing match setting that crammed 2,500 seats surrounding a ring.
The swanky 44,000-square-foot venue offered an intimate, yet upscale experience. Take a look.
Upscale experience — fight fans don’t necessarily associate those two words with a boxing event.
But it worked for The Chelsea as the old Vegas world of boxing met the new Vegas kind of upscale venue vibe that works to attract not only hard-core sports but also casual observers who can enjoy the details of a modern sports setting.
The amenities included VIP boxes enclosed with glass panels in the upper level. There was a rumor swirling around the squared circle that when the nightclub is in full swing, the floor actually bounces. (Even the irksome UK boxing tradition of blasting Sweet Caroline by house DJ, Justin Hoffman (who happens to be the nephew of iconic 60’s activist Abbie Hoffman) worked after Ireland’s Carl Frampton shut out Tyler McCreary in the co-featured boxing match, 100-88.
The Chelsea nearly hosted a remarkable boxing upset. Former featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez made his Top Rank Boxing super featherweight debut against late replacement Adam Lopez. Valdez (27-0, 21 KOs) got off the deck to stop Lopez in seven rounds in a barnburner of a main event in front of the packed house. Valdez was knocked down in the second round, only to come back to knock down Lopez (13-2) with a left hook in the seventh. A follow-up barrage caused referee Russell Mora to stop the bout with seven seconds remaining in the round.
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