The latest announcement from Resorts World, the Las Vegas Strip’s next mega-resort slated to open in summer 2021, wasn’t at all surprising: It has partnered with AEG Presents and its Concerts West division to develop and operate the Theatre at Resorts World.
The 5,000-seat concert and entertainment venue is being designed to host superstar residencies and limited engagements from other acts, along with other special events. AEG pioneered this style of venue with the creation of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2003 and helped usher in the era of the modern headlining residency with Celine Dion’s A New Day production.
“In this business, things change rapidly when it comes to technology. We needed to find the right partner to make sure we are creating the most high-end, technical theater you can build today and set up for [concerts], but also for other events,” Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella said. “It’s not just a theater where we can only do concerts; there’s also sporting events. Convention guest groups can do a lot of different things in there.”
The first Vegas project from Malaysian corporation Genting Berhad, Resorts World first announced plans for the theater and other nightlife and entertainment offerings in November. Sibella said the partnership with AEG includes the facility design, event programming and the eventual booking of artists and residencies, describing a comprehensive collaboration.
Those plans demonstrate the resort’s intent to become a prominent entertainment destination on the Strip, but the ideas coming from AEG’s side are a bit more bold. John Meglen, president and co-CEO of Concerts West, said that while the new theater hasn’t locked down any headliners yet, he believes the room will compete with the Colosseum, Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater and Park MGM’s Park Theater. And residencies are only the beginning of the venue’s potential.
“The only thing we know today is we still don’t know when live entertainment will be back,” Meglen said. “But there’s no way it goes away. What we need to be doing now is planning for that [comeback] and be ready when it’s ready. But it’s got to be the best in class.
“Remember how the [Vegas] residencies just became a sort of 'stop by and play for a week or tour while you’re touring'? We’re going the other way again. We’re going all the way back to what made it, that first [show] with [director] Franco [Dragone] and Celine together. We’ve got to go back to creating incredible productions, whether it comes from an artist, a Broadway type of show or a production show. We’ve got to get creative again.”
Meglen said AEG, one of the country’s largest concert touring promoters, is still big on bringing headliners to the Strip. Once the partnership with Resorts World went public on July 16, Dion’s name rocketed to the top of the rumor list for a new residency at the theater.
The veteran entertainment executive also believes Las Vegas could accumulate even more superstar acts when pandemic circumstances subside because of the city’s many top-notch venues and the convenience for artists to sign up for residencies instead of trying to tour soon.
“In my opinion, we’re going to go through a bit of a bumpy road getting live [entertainment] back on track, but Vegas does sit in a unique situation because you can set things up in a protected situation you maintain every day,” Meglen said. That’s why AEG and Resorts World are building “the coolest place we can build … that has all the latest tech bells and whistles. That’s the best thing for us to focus on right now.”
AEG’s long partnership with Caesars Palace to run the Colosseum ran its course when competitor Live Nation took over last year. But with the Resorts World deal and a similar partnership in place with the upcoming Virgin Las Vegas resort—to run what was the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel—AEG is in prime position to continue to shape Las Vegas entertainment in the future.
“Our timing is really good. If you look at the overall commitment to Las Vegas today, it’s pretty significant,” Meglen said. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to [owner] Phil Anschutz for being there in the very beginning and sticking with it, and the team in Las Vegas, a lot of whom have been there almost 20 years and they’re the pros. I just hope to keep their fire going.”
