Las Vegas Sands Plans To Build World’s Largest Music Hall In Las Vegas

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp is proposing to develop a music venue in partnership with Madison Square Garden Co. (MSG) in Las Vegas. The proposed music hall is expected to be the world’s biggest venue built exclusively for music and entertainment with its capacity slated to be a minimum of 16,000 people possibly going up to 17,500. The concert hall will be built on land owned by Las Vegas Sands and will be leased to MSG.

With the contribution of gaming revenue to overall casino revenue declining over the past few years in Las Vegas, more and more casinos are concentrating on non-gaming activities in a bid to bolster revenue from the non-gaming sector. MGM recently opened a dedicated music hall behind its casino New York-New York located on the Strip.

According to a filing submitted to the SEC by Las Vegas Sands, MSG will own the concert hall. Las Vegas Sands will pay $75 million to build a connecting walkway from The Venetian-Palazzo- Sands Expo Convention Center complex to the concert venue. Other partners in Sands’ venture are Live Nation Entertainment Inc., MSG executive Irving Azoff,and Oak View Group, a company owned by Tim Leiweke.

Rob Goldstein President Las Vegas Sands Corp has said that the proposal was in keeping with its efforts to improve revenue from its entertainment business worldwide. In a statement, Goldstein said

The goal here is a rejuvenation of our entertainment offering. We want to be in this business in an aggressive way.

The company is intending to focus on expanding its nightclub and concert business in locations across the globe, with renovations being planned for its nightclubs located in Las Vegas. It is also looking to build a music arena near its Singapore casino. In addition, the company has recently proposed to build a $1 billion stadium off the Strip in Las Vegas, which could be used to host football games. Sands intends to invite some of the biggest soccer teams in the world to play at the stadium.

The new music theatre planned in Las Vegas will have well-designed backstage facilities and no scoreboard to block the view, which is typically experienced when stadiums are used for music concerts. Sands will get priority access for tickets to events being held at the theatre for its hotel packages and promotions business. Additionally it will have the use of the facility rent-free to support its convention business.