T-Mobile Arena Celebrates 10 Years, Eyes NBA Expansion

T-Mobile Arena, the $375 million sports and entertainment venue on the Las Vegas Strip, celebrated its 10th anniversary on April 6, commemorating a decade of top-tier sports and entertainment since opening on April 6, 2016.

The inaugural night featured Las Vegas locals the Killers, with comedian and talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel, who grew up in Las Vegas, introducing the band via prerecorded video. "Mr. Las Vegas" himself, Wayne Newton, served as the opening act. That first year also brought UFC 200, concerts featuring Guns N' Roses, Garth Brooks, George Strait, and Billy Joel, and a May 7, 2016, boxing debut by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who knocked out Amir Khan before 16,540 fans.

Boxing became a pillar of the arena's early identity. On Aug. 26, 2017, T-Mobile Arena hosted the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor bout, followed by the first Canelo vs. Gennady Golovkin fight on Sept. 16, 2017. The two bouts combined for $100 million in ticket sales.

Over its first decade, the 20,000-capacity arena has hosted nearly 1,000 events, accounting for 12.6 million tickets sold and more than $2 billion in total ticket revenue, according to MGM Resorts. Along the way, fans consumed 5 million fountain sodas, around 1 million hot dogs, and 1 million popcorn servings.

The NHL era began Sept. 26, 2017, with an exhibition match, and no moment topped June 13, 2023, when the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers to claim the Stanley Cup. The UFC has called T-Mobile Arena the "Home of UFC" since 2017, when the MMA promoter signed a long-term deal with the arena, and recently extended that partnership.

Despite not hosting an NBA franchise, the arena has hosted 111 basketball events, selling about 1.1 million tickets, spanning college games, Pac-12 championships, USA Basketball, Aces games, and NBA Cup contests. Golden Knights owner Bill Foley, who holds a 15% stake in the arena, has said he is prepared to spend $300 million on upgrades, including additional seating, premium hospitality, and enhanced suites, to accommodate a potential NBA expansion tenant.

"As the NBA contemplates expanding into the market, MLB plans to begin play there in 2028, the NFL preps its seventh season in the city, and the NHL remains a major player ever since dropping the puck in 2017. None of it happens without T-Mobile Arena," News 3LV shares from the Forbes.com report.