By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Six years ago former UNLV basketball player and Las Vegas businessman Jackie Robinson broke ground on 27 acres on the Strip to build the proposed All Net Arena as part of an overall $1.4 billion hotel project south of Sahara Avenue. The proposed arena site is next to the Sahara Las Vegas hotel-casino.
Back in late October 2014, Robinson said the privately funded arena will cost $690 million and that he had lined up arena management heavyweight and Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectacor to schedule programming and manage the 22,000-seat retractable-roof arena. At the time, Robinson said his funding sources included the Carlton Group and foreign investors in the federal EB-5 visa program (which allows investors to receive visas if they invest $500,000 in projects.)
Well, no construction has happened since 2014 and the Clark County Commission decided this month to take action itself. The county tweeted that commissioners gave a six-month extension for the proposed arena on the Strip’s north end. And Robinson has six months to get the bond and development agreement for the site approved. Construction must begin within two years.
Good luck Mr. Robinson.
It looks like the new Henderson Silver Knights will begin playing at Orleans Arena after the American Hockey League starts its season Feb. 5. The AHL includes the Silver Knights, the top affiliate for the Vegas Golden Knights.
The American Hockey League is like the Triple A of pro hockey, the league with the top affiliates for the NHL’s teams. Golden Knights owner Bill Foley bought the old San Antonio team in the AHL and moved it to Henderson to play and the Knights will no longer use Chicago in the AHL for its affiliate.
The Silver Knights will play initially at Orleans Arena before the team shifts to its permanent home at the Henderson Events Center arena at the old Henderson Pavilion site.
DraftKings and UNLV have a deal. DraftKings, the fantasy sports brand, will be the primary sponsor of the Center for Gaming Innovation, which is housed in UNLV’s International Gaming Institute.
It’s a multi-year agreement. The agreement includes the opening of the new DraftKings Gaming Innovation Studio at UNLV and provides DraftKings with access to local talent, while furthering the company’s ties to Las Vegas.
“We’re excited to be working with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and its highly regarded International Gaming Institute to further innovate global online gaming,” said Paul Liberman, DraftKings co-founder and President, Global Technology and Product. “Both DraftKings and UNLV are on the leading edge of developing the next wave of technology within the international gaming industry. Through this agreement, DraftKings not only has access to the latest ideas coming out of the Gaming Innovation Studio, but it also allows us to deepen our relationship with the Las Vegas community.”
In January, DraftKings announced the opening of a 300-person office in Las Vegas, providing the company access to some of the gaming industry’s top talent. The agreement with UNLV will create a pipeline to local talent and to innovations created at UNLV, which has a long-standing track record of success in commercializing gaming products, ranging from new games and software to Responsible Gaming technologies. Visitors to UNLV can expect to see new DraftKings Gaming Innovation Studio signage, as well as DraftKings branding, throughout the Stan Fulton Building.
The Utah Jazz and Vivint Smart Home Arena are being sold — and that will inevitably create speculation about the Jazz moving to Las Vegas, which is hungry for an NBA team.
ESPN reported the Miller family has entered into an agreement to sell the Jazz and the arena to Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith for $1.66 billion.
ESPN said, “Smith, 40, is a lifelong Utah resident and Jazz fan who built software company Qualtrics before it sold for a reported $8 billion. Smith had a long-standing relationship with the Jazz franchise, which included a philanthropic jersey patch that raised more than $25 million in recent years.”
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas would be happy to host the Jazz or any NBA team.
LA Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said he didn’t want to stay in COVID-19 timeout, and that he wanted to play with his Dodgers baseball friends during a post-game World Series championship celebration even though he was infected with the novel coronavirus.
Turner was pulled from World Series Game 6 between the Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays because he tested positive for COVID, but after the game he refused to be quarantined and joined his teammates for a celebration and team picture without wearing a mask.
Major League Baseball said, “Following the Dodgers’ victory, it is clear that Turner chose to disregard the agreed-upon joint protocols and the instructions he was given regarding the safety and protection of others. While a desire to celebrate is understandable, Turner’s decision to leave isolation and enter the field was wrong and put everyone he came in contact with at risk. When MLB Security raised the matter of being on the field with Turner, he emphatically refused to comply.”
And from the Sports Business Daily: The NFL is planning 20 percent capacity at Super Bowl LV in Tampa, where seating capacity at Raymond James Stadium is 65,618.
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