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NBA Arena Race In Las Vegas: Oak View Group Ditches Las Vegas Blvd/Blue Diamond Rd Arena Site; Perhaps Resorts World Or Rio Could Be New OVG Arena Location?

LeBron. Photo by J. Tyge O'Donnell

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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Arena builder Oak View Group is not pursuing its previous plan for an arena at Las Vegas Boulevard/Blue Diamond Road presented three years ago and is looking at a new location for its potential NBA arena.

There is talk behind the scene that Tim Leiweke-led Oak View Group is looking to work with Resorts World on another potential arena site at that Resorts World site at the north end of the Strip. When sports venue construction pops up in Las Vegas, there’s always speculation that the Rio hotel site could be a possibility, too.

That Resorts World site is near another arena location being proposed by developer LVXP across Las Vegas Boulevard at the former Wet N Wild site.

LVXP arena proposal

 

LVXP’s proposed arena site on the Strip.

All the talk about the NBA wanting to expand to Las Vegas is driving the arena competition. Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has talked about wanting to own an NBA team in Las Vegas.

LeBron James

Besides the Leiweke and LVXP arena proposals there is also NHL Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley who said he wants to spend $300 million to upgrade T-Mobile Arena to potentially house any future NBA team in Las Vegas. Two years ago Foley said he thought the NBA would be coming to Las Vegas.

Speaking of the Oak View Group, OVG has taken over the food and beverage operations at the Raiders-managed Allegiant Stadium this month. Oak View Group takes over for Levy Restaurants, which still dominates the sports venue food/bev business in Las Vegas.

Levy Restaurants executive chef Garry DeLucia at T-Mobile Arena prepared for the PBT bull riding event from Nov. 1-5 by ordering 2,000 pounds of brisket several years ago.

Levy used a LinkedIn post to explain that Raiders owner Mark Davis sold a minority share to Oak View Group investor Egon Durban and “the common ownership interest of both the Raiders and OVG was impossible to overcome.”

Raiders owner Mark Davis

Levy still has the food/bev contracts at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas Ballpark, Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson.

OVG has food/bev contracts at several sports venues around the country like the MLB Phillies ballpark in Philadelphia.


 

 

Alan Snel: Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.
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