The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

at the

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circ ...

, located on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International, and was opened on April 10, 1999. MGM and brewing company

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...

entered a naming-rights agreement in 2021, naming the arena after the company's

Michelob Ultra Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

beer. It is the home arena for the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

. In 2022, it will also be home to the

Las Vegas Desert Dogs The Las Vegas Desert Dogs are a box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League. The team will play at Michelob Ultra Arena in Paradise, Nevada starting in the 2023 NLL season. History On June 21, 2021, the NLL awarded an expansion franchise t ...

of the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

. The arena also hosts a variety of music, sports, and entertainment events.

History

The facility opened as the Mandalay Bay Events Center on April 10, 1999, with a performance by opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. It was his first Las Vegas concert since 1985. The facility opened a month after the

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circu ...

resort, and included a floor. The venue was originally planned to include 8,000 seats, but boxing promoter

Bob Arum Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorn ...

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 The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference. History The facility was ...

and the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena (originally known as the MGM Grand Garden Special Events Center) is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena located within the MGM Grand Las Vegas on the Las Vegas Strip. Sporting events From its opening on December 18, 1993 ...

MGM Mirage MGM Resorts International is an American global hospitality and entertainment company operating destination resorts in Las Vegas, Massachusetts, Detroit, Mississippi, Maryland, and New Jersey, including Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Pa ...

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 instead. In February 2021, the venue was renamed Michelob Ultra Arena, through a partnership with brewing company

. It is named after the company's

beer.

Sports

The arena hosts

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

matches, including the high-profile Amir Khan vs. Zab Judah

Light welterweight Light welterweight, also known as junior welterweight or super lightweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional boxing In professional boxing, light welterweight is contested between the lightweight and welterweight divisions, ...

title unification In professional boxing, the undisputed champion of a weight class is the boxer who holds world titles from all of the major sanctioning organisations simultaneously. There are currently four major sanctioning bodies: WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. Ther ...

, match on July 23, 2011. As of July 2018, the Mandalay Bay Events Center has held 31

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) events, starting with

UFC 33 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, and most recently,

UFC Fight Night 88 ''UFC Fight Night: Almeida vs. Garbrandt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 88'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 29, 2016, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A bantamweight bout between top undefeated p ...

. It held the largest UFC weigh-in show in history in conjunction with International Fight Week 2012 ahead of

UFC 148 ''UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the seventeenth UFC event of the year. The card consisted of e ...

welcoming 10,000 fans. UFC cards in Vegas have since moved to

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz En ...

as part of a comprehensive marketing and tenancy agreement. The 999th episode of ''

WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show fe ...

'' was held at the arena on July 16, 2012, the first time the WWE performed at Mandalay Bay. The first

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

game on the

since 1981 was at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on October 6, 2012, a preseason contest between the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

and the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

. The teams returned for preseason games in 2013 and 2014. In 2016, it hosted the NCAA Men's basketball postseason tournament

Vegas 16 The Vegas 16 tournament was a postseason men's college basketball tournament. The tournament was managed by Lexington, Kentucky-based sports marketing firm bd Global. The tournament featured eight teams not selected for the NCAA Men's Division I B ...

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

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, the

Evolution Championship Series The Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, is an annual esports event that focuses exclusively on fighting games. The tournaments are completely open and use the double elimination format. As with Super Battle Opera, contestants ...

fighting game tournament has held its final day of competition at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The

WNBA All-Star Game The Women's National Basketball Association All-Star Game, commonly referred to as the WNBA All-Star Game, is an annual exhibition basketball game played in the United States between the best players of the Western and Eastern Conference of ...

and related All-Star events were held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 26 and 27, 2019.

Entertainment events

Rock band

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

performed at the arena in December 2000 which was filmed for the Journey 2001 DVD. VH1 held the first two

Rock Honors The VH1 Rock Honors were an annual ceremony paying homage to bands who influenced the sound of rock music. The events began in 2006, and the final event took place in 2008. The general format of each show is for modern bands to "pay tribute" to clas ...

ceremonies in this facility in 2006 and 2007. It was the host of

Yanni Yiannis Chryssomallis ( el, Γιάννης Χρυσομάλλης; born November 14, 1954), known professionally as Yanni ( ), is a Greek-American composer, keyboardist, pianist, and music producer. Yanni continues to use the musical shorthand ...

Yanni Live! The Concert Event ''Yanni Live! The Concert Event'' is the third live album by Yanni. It was recorded live at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas on November 6, 2004, and released in August 2006 as a CD and concert film on DVD. The album peaked at No. 1 on B ...

, in 2006. The arena hosted

Crüe Fest ''Crüe Fest'' was a summer 2008 tour by Mötley Crüe, which commenced on July 1, 2008 and concluded on August 31, 2008. It featured Mötley Crüe themselves, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M., and Trapt. ''Crüe Fest'' was said to be "the Lo ...

on August 1, 2008. It played host to

311 311 may refer to: * 311 (number), a natural number * AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD * 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * 311 (band), an American band ** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album ...

'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 Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...

on July 9. On August 23, 2010 the arena served as the venue for

Miss Universe 2010 Miss (pronounced ) is an English language honorific typically used for a girl, for an unmarried woman (when not using another title such as "Doctor" or "Dame"), or for a married woman retaining her maiden name. Originating in the 17th century, it ...

where at the conclusion of the event

Ximena Navarrete Jimena "Ximena" Navarrete Rosete (born February 22, 1988) is a Mexican actress, TV host, model and beauty queen who won Miss Universe 2010. She was previously named as Nuestra Belleza México 2009. She is the second Miss Universe from Mexico. ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

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 Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' were there on the first stop on their

Glee Live! In Concert! Glee Live! In Concert! was a 2010—2011 concert tour performed in-character by members of the cast of the popular television series '' Glee''. The tour, created by series creator Ryan Murphy, was designed to build on the overwhelming response ...

tour on May 21, 2011. On May 14, 2017 the arena hosted

Miss USA 2017 Miss USA 2017 was the 66th Miss USA pageant. It was held on May 14, 2017 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Terrence J and Julianne Hough served as hosts, while Ashley Graham also returned as backstage host, all for a secon ...

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

Latin Grammy Awards

The arena has hosted the

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

seven times. The Latin Grammys were held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and from

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. The arena hosted the Latin Grammy Awards for a seventh time in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

In popular culture

Footage of a boxing match between

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...

and Oba Carr, taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, was used in the 1999 film ''

Play It to the Bone ''Play It to the Bone'' is a 1999 American sports comedy drama film, starring Antonio Banderas and Woody Harrelson, written and directed by Ron Shelton. It follows the adventures of two boxers and best friends who travel to Las Vegas in order t ...

''. The final boxing match in the 2006 film ''

Rocky Balboa Robert "Rocky" Balboa (also known by his ring name The Italian Stallion), is a fictional title character and the protagonist of the ''Rocky'' film series. The character was created by Sylvester Stallone, who has also portrayed him in all eigh ...

'' was also filmed at the venue.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1999 establishments in Nevada Basketball venues in Nevada Boxing venues in Las Vegas Buildings and structures in Paradise, Nevada Convention centers in the Las Vegas Valley Event venues established in 1999 Indoor arenas in Las Vegas Las Vegas Aces venues Las Vegas Desert Dogs Mixed martial arts venues in Nevada Music venues in the Las Vegas Valley Sports venues in Las Vegas Sports venues completed in 1999