LAS VEGAS, April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- T-Mobile Arena
celebrated its grand opening yesterday with a blowout concert
headlined by local legends including The Killers; "Mr.
Las Vegas" himself,
Wayne Newton; and emerging
pop artist Shamir.
As the sun set on the Las Vegas Strip, T-Mobile Arena surged to
life with light, sound and energy. GRAMMY-nominated rock stars The
Killers were on their home turf at T-Mobile Arena, captivating a
sellout crowd. Lead singer Brandon
Flowers was joined by fellow Las Vegas-bred bandmates Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. The stars
powered out hits including "Mr. Brightside," "Somebody Told Me" and
"Read My Mind." Enhancing the live performance, a 30-foot
megascreen projected the set and incredible video throughout the
venue. T-Mobile Arena ensured all guests could take selfies, share
the moment via Snapchat and more thanks to ridiculously fast
network speeds from T-Mobile, America's fastest 4G LTE network, and
over 550 Wi-Fi access points integrated throughout the arena.
Opening for The Killers was legendary Las Vegas artist Wayne
Newton, who belted out some of his greatest hits including
"Danke Schoen," "When the Saints Go
Marching In" and "Viva Las Vegas." Breakout Las Vegas-born pop
artist Shamir, lauded for shattering normative gender labels,
delivered a true-to-style set infused with soul and raw talent.
The evening featured a series of unexpected collaborations,
which kicked off with a video introduction from late-night TV host
and Las Vegas native Jimmy Kimmel.
An on-stage cameo by Blue Man Group during The Killers'
performance of "Human" fired up the crowd, as the trio's dynamic
combination of music, comedy and technology helped to provide a
truly once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
Old school blues met The Killers' alternative sound as
Wayne Newton joined Flowers onstage
for a rocking collaboration of "Johnny B.
Goode."
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was when Imagine
Dragons' frontman and fellow Las Vegan Dan Reynolds shared the
stage with Flowers – for the first time – to perform "Jenny was a
Friend of Mine."
In an epic finale, Reynolds joined Blue Man Group, Cirque du
Soleil, comedian Carrot Top, Wayne
Newton, magician Jeff
Civillico and others in The Killers' rendition of "Viva Las
Vegas."
Guests partied to dynamic entertainment throughout the evening
while they sipped and sampled T-Mobile Arena's gourmet food and
drink. Anticipating grand opening night, Levy Restaurants flew in
nearly 700 pounds of live lobsters, 290 pounds of ahi tuna, nearly
one million fluid ounces of draft beer, 484 bottles of Patron and
much more. Delectable fare such as a made-to-order Poke Bar and
Carvery Cart serving BBQ Pork Banh Mi were available for guests
along with the venue's signature Pink Highlighter cocktail, served
in blinking magenta souvenir cups that dotted the crowd with
splashes of colorful light. As guests exited the building onto
Toshiba Plaza, magenta fireworks lit up the evening sky.
Earlier in the day, The Killers joined executives from MGM
Resorts International, AEG and T-Mobile for an official press
conference in Toshiba Plaza. Clark
County Commission Chairman Steve
Sisolak presented the hometown heroes with a Crystal Key to the Las Vegas Strip and
proclaimed April 6, 2016 "The
Killers' Music Appreciation Day." Brandon Flowers and
Ronnie Vannucci accepted the
accolades and addressed the crowd of officials, venue partners and
executives convened at the plaza, including Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts;
Dan Beckerman, President and
CEO of AEG; Andrew Sherrard,
Chief Marketing Officer of T-Mobile; Scott Maccabe, President and CEO of Toshiba;
and Mary Beth Scow,
Clark County Commissioner.
Flowers said, "We've been lucky and we've had a lot of boxes
checked that were dreams for us; this is another one of those, and
this is going to be one that we're never going to forget. We're
really proud to be from Las Vegas
and we take a little bit of it with us everywhere we go, we really
do."
Nearly two years and $375 million
were invested in bringing the 20,000-seat, world-class arena to
Las Vegas.
Grand opening celebrations continue throughout the weekend
with tonight's "T-Mobile Arena Opening Celebration
Concert" featuring multi-platinum, GRAMMY-nominated
artist Nicki Minaj with special guest Ariana Grande. The songstresses kick off an
extensive schedule of more than 70 events booked for T-Mobile
Arena's first season, including the first stop on Guns N' Roses'
reunion tour, George Strait,
Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, UFC 200 and more.
For high-res b-roll, photography and more,
visit: http://bit.ly/T-MobileArenaMediaKit
For more arena information, visit the T-Mobile
Arena newsroom at: http://newsroom.tmobilearena.com/
About T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena is a privately
funded indoor arena. The 20,000-seat venue, located on the Las
Vegas Strip between New York-New
York and Monte Carlo, will
host more than 100 events annually, including UFC, boxing, hockey,
basketball and other sporting events, major headline entertainment,
awards shows, family shows and special events. Las Vegas' newest landmark features 50 luxury
suites, more than two dozen private loge boxes, complete broadcast
facilities, and other specially designed exclusive hospitality
offerings and fan amenities destined to create a guest experience
second to none. Toshiba Plaza, an adjacent two-acre outdoor
entertainment space, features performance stages, a variety of
video screens and other interactive content and display
areas. Industry-leading architect Populous designed T-Mobile
Arena to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's standards for LEED®
Gold Certification. T-Mobile Arena is a joint venture between AEG
and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM). For more
information visit the T-Mobile Arena website at
t-mobilearena.com.
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352959
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352958
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352951
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352952
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352953
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352955
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352954
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352960
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352957
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160407/352956
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/t-mobile-arena-debuts-on-the-las-vegas-strip-300248265.html
SOURCE T-Mobile Arena