All Net Arena Las Vegas Denied Land Permit Extension

Article ByDavid Weir

November 28, 2023

Spread the Word:

Posted in: Nevada Gambling News, US Casino News, US Gambling News, US Sports Betting News

The long-proposed All Net Arena in Las Vegas (renderings pictured) is now officially not happening.

The $5 billion resort idea supposedly broke ground back in 2014. But since then, not much has moved along but a few piles of dirt.

On Tuesday, the Clark County Commission voted 7-0 to reject an extension on the land use permit requested by developers. It granted the last of many previous extensions in 2022. Those expired on September 6, 2023, with no construction taking place.

The All Net Arena’s financial backers include former NBA player Jackie Robinson, who hoped to use the project to lure a top-tier basketball team to the increasingly sports-mad Las Vegas.

However, after nearly 10 years of back and forth that many called a waste of time years ago, Clark County has now blown the final whistle on the project.

“Time and time again, we’ve asked, you know, just one more year, or two years. Let’s get this done. We’ll get it done. We’ve followed the money everywhere around the world. And truthfully, it just hasn’t happened,” said Commission Vice-Chairman Tick Segerblom.

“So, I’m just prepared to make a motion to deny it at this point.”

Funding Never Materialized

The huge plans for the All Net Arena would have seen it take up prime real estate among the Nevada casinos of the Las Vegas Strip. Its neighbors would have included the soon-to-open Fontainebleau Las Vegas and the Sahara casino.

The proposed development would have seen a 63-story hotel tower, which is interestingly the exact same number of floors as the Fontainebleau, as well as a multipurpose arena, 300,000 feet of convention space, a nightclub, a shopping mall, a bowling alley, and a movie theatre.

The fate of the project makes an interesting contrast with the Fontainebleau.

That long-delayed project seems like it will have an eventual happy ending, as it is finally set to open next week after nearly 15 years of delays.

However, the Fontainebleau at least had a huge hotel tower to attract investors after stalling on work in 2009. The tower would be the tallest in Las Vegas, no less.

Conversely, we have the All Net Arena, which never got much further than clearing the ground and getting some diggers in.

That’s despite Robinson telling Clark County in 2022 he had $6 billion in funding lined up for the project.

NBA Dream Not Over

Part of the package for All Net Arena was the supposed intent to bring an NBA team to Las Vegas.

However, after years of development limbo, a new competitor stepped in to take the ball forward on that front. Oak View Group is currently working on a basketball arena and entertainment district at the opposite end of the Las Vegas Strip, south of Mandalay Bay.

Thus, despite the almost certain death of the All-Net Arena, a Las Vegas NBA team is still a possibility.

And then there’s an MLB team, too, to go with the recent additions of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team and the hugely successful Las Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL.

Meanwhile, the vacant Las Vegas Strip lot that has sat idle for almost ten years will continue to do so for now.

The developers insist that they are still working on it. But unless something hugely dramatic happens in the next two days, the dream is over.

Speaking of dreams, there is another Las Vegas resort idea that looked dead in the water that has recently promised a turnaround.

Dream Las Vegas, a $575 million boutique hotel that has been on-and-off since 2020, recently saw developers file for an extension to its land permit, claiming they are absolutely ready to begin construction in early 2024.