Michelob Ultra Arena

History

The facility opened as the Mandalay Bay Events Center on April 10, 1999, with a performance by opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, appearing in his first Las Vegas concert since 1985. The facility opened a month after the Mandalay Bay resort, and included a 30218 sqft floor. The venue was originally planned to include 8,000 seats, but boxing promoter Bob Arum convinced Mandalay Resort Group to increase this to 12,000. The Mandalay Bay Events Center gave Las Vegas its third musical arena, joining the Thomas & Mack Center and the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

MGM Mirage acquired Mandalay Resort Group and the venue in 2005, and was later renamed MGM Resorts International. Around 2014, MGM considered turning the facility into a theater, before deciding to build the Park Theater (now known as "Dolby Live") instead. In February 2021, the venue was renamed Michelob Ultra Arena, through a partnership with brewing company Anheuser-Busch. It is named after the company's Michelob Ultra beer.

Sports

Combat Sports

The arena hosts boxing matches, including the high-profile Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah Light welterweight title unification, match on July 23, 2011.

As of July 2018, the Mandalay Bay Events Center has held 31 Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events, starting with UFC 33, and most recently, UFC Fight Night 88. It held the largest UFC weigh-in show in history in conjunction with International Fight Week 2012 ahead of UFC 148 welcoming 10,000 fans. UFC cards in Vegas have since moved to T-Mobile Arena as part of a comprehensive marketing and tenancy agreement.

The 999th episode of WWE Raw was held at the arena on July 16, 2012, the first time the WWE performed at Mandalay Bay.

Basketball

Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA

The Las Vegas Aces are the primary long-term tenant of the arena. The NBA and WNBA officially announced on October 17, 2017, that the San Antonio Stars would relocate from San Antonio, Texas, and would be playing at the Mandalay Bay Events Center starting in the 2018 season as the Las Vegas Aces. They played their first home game on May 27, 2018. The arena has hosted the Aces in the WNBA Finals twice, in 2022 and 2023. The Aces have four banners hanging from the rafters at the arena: one for the retirement of Becky Hammon's number 25, two for their WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023, and one for their 2022 Commissioner's Cup championship.

The arena has hosted the WNBA All-Star Game and related All-Star events three times: 2019, 2021, and 2023.

NBA

The first National Basketball Association game on the Las Vegas Strip since 1981 was at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on October 6, 2012, a preseason contest between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers. The teams returned for preseason games in 2013 and 2014.

NBA G League

During the 2021–22 NBA G League season, the Michelob Ultra Arena would serve as one of the temporary home arenas for the Capitanes de la Ciudad de México during their inaugural season at the NBA G League despite also being temporarily stationed at Fort Worth, Texas at the time due to the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only that, but it would also serve as the neutral hosting site for the Showcase Cup Tournament for the G League (which would continue its existence following the 2021–22 season), as well as the home arena for the NBA G League Ignite during that entire season for them, including a couple of exhibition games played against the Capitanes.

USA Basketball

In 2021, Michelob Ultra Arena hosted a training camp for USA Basketball prior to their departure for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

College

The arena hosted the NCAA Men's basketball postseason tournament Vegas 16 in its only season, 2016. In 2021, the arena hosted the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball for a game against Seattle Redhawks while the National Finals Rodeo occupied UNLV's home arena, the Thomas & Mack Center. Michelob Ultra Arena also played hosted to the Pac-12 Conference women's basketball tournament from 2021 to 2023.

Box Lacrosse

On August 29, 2017, the National Lacrosse League (NLL) announced that Las Vegas had been awarded an NLL franchise to begin playing in December 2022 for the 2022–2023 season. The team became known as the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. The team moved to the nearby Lee's Family Forum in Henderson starting with the 2024–25 season.

Esports

The 2016 Spring North American League of Legends Championship Series Finals were hosted at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on April 16 and 17, 2016.

From 2016 to 2023, the Evolution Championship Series fighting game tournament has held its final day of competition at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. 1999 Mr. Olympia 2000 Mr. Olympia 2000 Ms. Olympia 2001 Mr. Olympia 2001 Ms. Olympia 2002 Mr. Olympia 2002 Ms. Olympia 2003 Mr. Olympia 2003 Ms. Olympia 2004 Mr. Olympia 2004 Ms. Olympia 2019 WNBA All-Star Game A 24th AVN Awards 25th AVN Awards 26th AVN Awards B Big Knockout Boxing 2018 Billboard Latin Music Awards 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards C Miguel Cotto vs. Canelo Álvarez D Oscar De La Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas E Evo 2016 Evo 2017 Evo 2018 Evo 2019 F 2000 Fed Cup World Group – Knockout Stage H Evander Holyfield vs. John Ruiz II Bernard Hopkins vs. Roy Jones Jr. II J Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver II K Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana Wladimir Klitschko vs. Lamon Brewster L Las Vegas Aces 8th Annual Latin Grammy Awards 10th Annual Latin Grammy Awards 11th Annual Latin Grammy Awards 12th Annual Latin Grammy Awards 13th Annual Latin Grammy Awards 14th Annual Latin Grammy Awards Lennox Lewis vs. David Tua M Juan Manuel Márquez vs. Juan Díaz II Juan Manuel Márquez vs. Manny Pacquiao II Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Carlos Baldomir Miss Universe 2010 Miss USA 2017 Fernando Montiel vs. Nonito Donaire Érik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera I P 2020 Pac-12 Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera II Manny Pacquiao vs. David Díaz Q ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen Live R Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis II T Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. The Fight of the Millennium (Oscar De La Hoya vs. Félix Trinidad) U UFC 33 UFC 44 UFC 46 UFC 47 UFC 48 UFC 51 UFC 57 UFC 58 UFC 61 UFC 62 UFC 64 UFC 67 UFC 74 UFC 79 UFC 81 UFC 86 UFC 100 UFC 106 UFC 109 UFC 126 UFC 137 UFC 143 UFC 151 UFC 156 UFC 170 UFC 175 UFC 181 UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale The Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale The Ultimate Fighter 19 Finale V Vegas 16 2016 Vegas 16 Tournament VH1 Rock Honors W Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev II Y Yanni Live! The Concert Event--

Entertainment events

Rock band Journey performed at the arena in December 2000 which was filmed for the Journey 2001 DVD.

VH1 held the first two Rock Honors ceremonies in this facility in 2006 and 2007.

It was the host of Yanni's Yanni Live! The Concert Event, in 2006.

The arena hosted Crüe Fest on August 1, 2008.

It played host to 311's biennial 3-11 Day concert on March 11, 2010. The band played four sets with 60 songs total.

The arena hosted the 2010 revival of the Lilith Fair on July 9.

On August 23, 2010, the arena served as the venue for Miss Universe 2010 where at the conclusion of the event Ximena Navarrete of Mexico was crowned as the winner.

January 28, 2011, Ozzy Osbourne performed as part of his tour for his new album Let Me Hear You Scream.

The cast of Glee were there on the first stop on their Glee Live! In Concert! tour on May 21, 2011.

On May 14, 2017, the arena hosted Miss USA 2017 pageant.

The 25th Billboard Latin Music Awards was held in the Events Center on April 26, 2018.

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden performed for their The Future Past World Tour on October 5, 2024.

The Arena will host the upcoming Call of Duty World Championship in July 2026

Latin Grammy Awards

The arena has hosted the Latin Grammy Awards seven times. The Latin Grammys were held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in 2007 and from 2009 to 2013. The arena hosted the Latin Grammy Awards for a seventh time in 2022.

In popular culture

Footage of a boxing match between Oscar De La Hoya and Oba Carr, taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, was used in the 1999 film Play It to the Bone. The final boxing match in the 2006 film Rocky Balboa was also filmed at the venue.

References

References

1. "Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas".
2. (February 11, 2021). "Mandalay Bay Events Center now named Michelob ULTRA Arena".
3. Paskevich, Michael. (April 9, 1999). "Unmatched Success: World-famous Pavarotti will kick off arena's opening". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
4. Paskevich, Michael. (December 1, 1998). "Pavarotti to open Mandalay Bay arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
5. (February 26, 1999). "Mandalay Bay Events Center debuts in April with Pavarotti". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
6. Juipe, Dean. (March 31, 1998). "Arum influenced arena size". Las Vegas Sun.
7. Weatherford, Mike. (February 5, 1999). "Mixed Blessing: Additional concert venues may mean more shows for higher prices". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
8. Katsilometes, John. (July 27, 2019). "Mandalay Bay Events Center almost didn't become Aces home". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
9. Radke, Brock. (February 11, 2021). "Mandalay Bay venue gets a new name: Michelob Ultra Arena". Las Vegas Sun.
10. Katsilometes, John. (February 11, 2021). "Mandalay Bay cracks an Ultra for new venue name". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
11. (6 July 2012). "UFC 148 weigh-ins on YouTube".
12. (17 October 2017). "San Antonio Stars moving to Las Vegas, bought by MGM Resorts".
13. (June 25, 2012). "Clippers opens preseason on Vegas Strip". Orange County Register.
14. Carp, Steve. (April 29, 2014). "Mandalay Bay ends business relationship with Clippers". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
15. "Showcase Cup: Agua Caliente Clippers at Ciudad de Mexico Capitanes, Dec 20, 2021".
16. "Showcase Cup: Westchester Knicks at Ciudad de Mexico Capitanes, Dec 22, 2021".
17. "2021-22 G League Ignite Stats".
18. (April 25, 2022). "NEW LAS VEGAS LACROSSE TEAM NAMED "DESERT DOGS"".
19. Snel, Alan. (2024-04-12). "Las Vegas Desert Dogs Lacrosse Team Migrates To Lee's Family Forum Arena In Henderson For 2024-25 Season".
20. "FOX Broadcasting Company - Full Episodes, Shows, Schedule".
21. (April 19, 2018). "Jennifer Lopez Will Premiere Song at Billboard Latin Music Awards".
22. (October 27, 2023). "Iron Maiden. The Future Past World Tour 2024".
23. (22 April 2013). "Latin GRAMMYs To Light Up Las Vegas".
24. Cling, Carol. (May 24, 1999). "Mandalay Bay makes big-screen debut in boxing film". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
25. Kantowski, Ron. (December 12, 2005). "The tale of the video tape from an up-close viewing of Rocky Balboa boxing match". Las Vegas Sun.
26. "Movie Locations Guide: Maps and Directions to Filming Locations".