$4bn sports mega resort planned for Las Vegas

Plans for a US$4bn (£2.26bn) leisure resort which will centre around sports, physical activity and health and fitness have been unveiled in Las Vegas.

Called Ultimate Sports Resort, the development will include five separate, multi-purpose sports venues, a casino, a 5,500-room hotel, 500 luxury time share properties, three restaurants, 15 fastfood outlets, 10 nightclubs, a number of Hall of Fame visitor attractions for different sports as well as one million sq ft (92,900sq m) Convention Centre.

Located on 116 acres in north Las Vegas, adjacent to the Las Vegas Speedway, the resort’s arenas will include a 26,000-seat main arena, a 10,000-seat action sports arena, a 5,000-seat swim and dive centre – featuring two 50m Olympic-size swimming pools – and a 3,000-seat multi-purpose arena.

Other sports offerings will include a climate-controlled golf driving range with 2,000 portable seats, a 2,000-capacity bowling alley and an ice rink for ice hockey and figure skating with a capacity of 1,000.

There will also be a number of interactive sports attractions throughout the resort, including batting cages, rock climbing walls and a host of virtual reality games.

The resort’s casino – at 150,000sq ft (13,900sq m) – will be one of the largest in the city and a third of gaming space will be glass-enclosed and reserved for non-smokers.

The company behind the scheme, Ultimate Sports Entertainment (USE), hopes that the resort will create an entirely new market of entertainment in the city and create annual revenues of around US$1.2bn (£678m).

Matt Rose, chief executive officer of USE, said: “Around 40 million people visit Las Vegas every year with live entertainment dollars to spend, but there are very few entertainment options between the hours of 9am and 7pm.

“We plan to meet that need while also providing the traditional casino to keep our guests entertained 24 hours a day.”

The resort has secured the support of the United States Olympic Committee and more than 25 national governing bodies and sports organisations which are interested in holding national competitions there.

The resort’s four hotel towers will also double as a source of revenue, as the buildings will feature large LED displays able to broadcast advertising for corporate partners and sponsors – as well as sporting events taking place at the resort.

Companies working on the project will include management company Navagante, construction company Perini Building and stadium and arena design experts HOK Sports.

Construction on the site will begin later this year and the entire resort is expected to be completed in 2009. Details: www.ultimatesportsresort.com