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Caesars and VICI Properties are developing a plan for 50 acres behind Paris Las Vegas, Horseshoe Las Vegas, and Planet Hollywood that could house an arena for a possible NBA team in Las Vegas.
The update came from VICI President and COO John Payne during the company’s quarterly earnings call. Payne said VICI and Caesars jointly own the land east of the three resorts, between Flamingo Road and Harmon Avenue.
> “We own, in conjunction with our partner Caesars, and we’re working with them, 50 acres of land behind Paris, Horseshoe, Planet Hollywood, and we are developing a plan with Caesars … to house the arena that could be built for the new NBA team,” Payne said.
The site is currently described as largely a surface parking lot, along with a makeshift structure used for BattleBots programming.
For Caesars, the announcement points to a potentially significant future use for land tied to its Strip portfolio, even though no design, timeline, or seating capacity was disclosed. Caesars did not hold an earnings call for its own quarterly report this week because of its pending buyout by Fertitta Entertainment.
The proposal is emerging as multiple groups push different arena concepts tied to a possible NBA expansion into Las Vegas. Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley and MGM Resorts have said T-Mobile Arena could be upgraded to host two full-time franchises if Foley secures a team. Separate proposals have also surfaced from Las Vegas Diamond Arena, which says it has acquired land for a 21,212-seat venue across from Mandalay Bay, and from Starr Vegas Development, which unveiled a $10 billion project in April that includes a planned 25,000-seat basketball and concert arena.
Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley has also said she would present a vacant downtown site near the World Market Center to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
What happens next will likely depend on the league’s expansion process. Silver has said he hopes the NBA reaches a decision on expansion by the end of the year. For now, Caesars and VICI have confirmed only that they are working on a plan for the land, not that a final arena project has been approved.
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Source: As reported by Matthew Seeman.
