With a new WNBA team comes some new features for the Mandalay Bay Events Center, which has been overhauled to accommodate the Las Vegas Aces.
Las Vegas now has its own WNBA franchise in the form of the Aces, who were purchased by MGM Resorts International and relocated from San Antonio prior to this season. The Aces are playing home games at the Mandalay Bay Events Center and, as a way of sprucing up the venue, Mandalay dedicated more than $10 million to renovations.
The finished product includes overhauls in several areas, with the arena featuring upgraded seating, lighting, video displays, and more. It was all done on a tight schedule to welcome the Aces, who played their first regular season game at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday. More from The Las Vegas Review-Journal:
Construction was scheduled around concerts and conferences, and crews utilized about 60 work days during a 5½-month span, [director of construction development Cindy] Wild said.
“If they had a curtain up, we were behind the scenes working on it,” she said. “It was really an incredible amount of teamwork.”
The old seats were replaced; the new ones are plush, comfortable. A new basketball floor was installed, and locker rooms, coaches offices and laundry rooms were added to accommodate Aces players and staff.
Sunday’s contest resulted in a loss for the Aces, who were defeated by the Seattle Storm 105-98. Prior to Sunday, the Aces had played one preseason game at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, as they hosted the Chinese national team on May 6.
