MGM Grand Arena
Encyclopedia
MGM Grand Garden Arena is located in the MGM Grand
MGM Grand Las Vegas
The MGM Grand Las Vegas is a hotel casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The MGM Grand is the third largest hotel in the world and largest hotel resort complex in the United States in front of The Venetian. The MGM Grand was the largest hotel in the world when it opened in...
in Paradise, Nevada
Paradise, Nevada
Paradise is an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The population was 223,167 at the 2010 census...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and is patterned after New York's
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
. The arena has a seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
of 16,800 people and is located at 3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South.
Notable events hosted
The MGM Grand Garden Arena has held events such as the Billboard Music AwardBillboard Music Award
The Billboard Music Award is an honor given by Billboard magazine, the preeminent publication covering the music business. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually in December until it went dormant in 2007, but it returned in May 2011...
s, the Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
Grand Slam for Children Benefit, the VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
Divas Las Vegas shows, and other sporting and special events such as Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
(UFC) PPV events. From 1996-2000, it hosted wrestling's WCW
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
Halloween Havoc
Halloween Havoc
Halloween Havoc was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Championship Wrestling from 1989 through 2000. The final five events were held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena...
PPV event. The UWF
Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)
The Universal Wrestling Federation was an American wrestling promotion based out of Marina del Rey, California.-History:Herb Abrams founded the UWF in 1990 with hopes of returning professional wrestling back to its roots...
television event Backjack Brawl was held at the venue in 1994. For the last three years it has held the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMA) in May. On December 6 2010 it hosted the first ever American Country Awards.
Athletic events
In 1994, the Las Vegas DustdevilsLas Vegas Dustdevils
The Las Vegas Dustdevils were an indoor soccer team based out of Las Vegas, Nevada that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League . The team won the league championship in 1994, but folded after their second season.-History:...
an indoor soccer
Indoor soccer
Indoor soccer or arena soccer, or six-a-side football in the United Kingdom, is a game derived from association football adapted for play in an indoor arena such as a turf-covered hockey arena or skating rink. The most important difference in play is that the indoor field is surrounded by a wall...
team in the Continental Indoor Soccer League
Continental Indoor Soccer League
The Continental Indoor Soccer League was an indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997.-History:When the Major Soccer League folded in the summer of 1992, two of its former teams joined a group of hockey and basketball arena owners led by Ron Weinstein who wanted to create a league to...
played one season in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The arena also serves as the pre-season home for select Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
home against the Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
known as the Frozen Fury
Frozen Fury
Frozen Fury is an annual pre-season ice hockey game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League , held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, first played in 1997. On two occasions, the Kings have faced different teams instead of the...
.
During the 1990's, the MGM Grand Garden arena served as the site for the WAC
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
women's volleyball tournament.
As of July 2011 the MGM Grand Garden Arena has held nineteen UFC events (34
UFC 34
UFC 34: High Voltage was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on November 2, 2001...
, 36
UFC 36
UFC 36: Worlds Collide was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada on March 22, 2002...
, 40
UFC 40
UFC 40: Vendetta was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada...
, 49
UFC 49
UFC 49: Unfinished Business was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 21, 2004, at the MGM Grand Arena in Paradise, Nevada...
, 54
UFC 54
UFC 54: Boiling Point was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 20, 2005, at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada...
, 56
UFC 56
UFC 56: Full Force was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2005. It was held at the MGM Grand Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and released on DVD.-History:Headlining the card were the...
, 66
UFC 66
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 30, 2006 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada .-Background:...
, 71
UFC 71
UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event took place on Saturday, May 26, 2007 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
, 84
UFC 84
UFC 84: Ill Will was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 24, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Overview:...
, 91
UFC 91
UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 15, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event featured the return of UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture versus Brock Lesnar in a title...
, 92
UFC 92
UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 was a mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on December 27, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
, 94
UFC 94
UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event promoted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 31, 2009. The card featured five televised MMA bouts, as well as five un-aired preliminary bouts...
, 98
UFC 98
UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 23, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...
, 108
UFC 108
UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 2, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.- Background :...
, 114
UFC 114
UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The UFC Fan Expo took place at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center....
, 116
UFC 116
UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 3, 2010 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States...
, 125
UFC 125
UFC 125: Resolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 1, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:...
, 130
UFC 130
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 28, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:...
, and 132
UFC 132
UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 2, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:UFC 132 was originally set to feature a rematch between B.J...
) and numerous boxing matches including fights For Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Floyd Joy Mayweather, Jr. is an American professional boxer. He is a five-division world champion, where he has won seven world titles, as well as the lineal championship in three different weight classes...
, Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
, Oscar De La Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
Notable concerts
Jimmy BuffettJimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
and the Coral Reefer Band have played at the Arena at least one time a year for the past 9 years. Several of his shows here were the final concerts for his yearly tours. His 2003 concert at the Arena was recorded for a live concert CD.
Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
played at the Arena for their "Face to Face Tour" on March 25th, 1995 on Elton's birthday. In the concert, Ray Cooper performed a 40 minute drum solo which made it the memorable part of the concert.
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
christened the arena by performing two concerts on December 31, 1993 and January 1, 1994. At the time, the concerts were her first for paying customers in close to twenty-seven years.
The Bee Gees performed the first concert of their "One Night Only Tour" in 1997. The show was released on VHS the following year and was eventually released as a live album.
Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
performed twice in 1999, for her highly-successful "Do You Believe? Tour
Do You Believe? Tour
The Do You Believe? Tour, sometimes also known as The Believe Tour, was Cher’s third solo concert tour. The tour which took place in 1999 and 2000, was used to promote her album Believe.-History:...
" and later released a VHS, titled Live in Concert
Live in Concert
Live in Concert is a 1999 live album and DVD by Natalie Merchant. The album and DVD were recorded at the Neil Simon Theatre in New York City. The setlist includes a rare cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". The U.S...
.
Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
was scheduled to conclude her Return to Love Tour
Return to Love Tour
"The Return to Love Tour" is a 2000 concert tour by American singing group Diana Ross and the Supremes.-Origins:In 1999, Diana Ross released her final album on Motown Records, "Every Day is a New Day"...
on August 5, 2000, but the show was cancelled.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
performed on October 22, 2000, on a night that marked the tenth anniversary of their first show.
On November 18, 2001, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
broadcast her concert live on HBO. The concert was part of her Dream Within a Dream Tour
Dream Within a Dream Tour
The Dream Within a Dream Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It promoted her third studio album Britney in North America and Japan. The Dream Within a Dream Tour was promoted by Concerts West, marking the first time Spears did not tour with Clear Channel...
. In order for the broadcast to work with the time differences, Spears performed at five o'clock at night. This performance was later released on , called Live from Las Vegas.
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman
Sarah Brightman is an English classical crossover soprano, actress, songwriter and dancer. She is famous for possessing a vocal range of over 3 octaves and singing in the whistle register...
filmed The Harem World Tour: Live From Las Vegas, a video recording of her tour inspired by her album Harem
Harem (album)
Harem is a 2003 album by English singer Sarah Brightman. It mixes her operatic voice with Middle-Eastern and Indian rhythms and vocals. Thanks to an idea of Frank Peterson, the producer of this album, in the song "Mysterious Days", they included the vocals of the late singer Ofra Haza, who worked...
. It was recorded live at the arena on March 13, 2004.
The Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
played two nights at the Grand Garden Arena on March 23–24, 2007. Both shows were released on June 5, 2007, as part of the DMB Live Trax series, as Live Trax 9
Live Trax Vol. 9
Live Trax Vol. 9 is the ninth live album released in the Dave Matthews Band Live Trax series. The four-disc live album was recorded at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada over a two-night span on March 23–24, 2007. The performance was the band's first show in 2007, after not having...
.
British pop group The Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
announced on June 28, 2007 that they would be going on an 11-city world tour, including a stop at the MGM Grand Garden. The Las Vegas arena is one of 21 North American stops on their much-anticipated reunion tour, however their performance at the MGM has now been moved to accommodate the Ricky Hatton - Floyd Mayweather fight.
The Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
extended their Burning Up Tour, with Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato
"She’s got the range, the full emotional spectrum, incredible control… Vocally, she’s the best thing Disney’s had since Christina Aguilera."—Producer Toby Gad on Demi Lovato's vocals...
and upcoming boy band Honor Society
Honor Society (band)
Honor Society is a pop rock band originally based out of New York. The band consists of Michael Bruno , Jason Rosen , Andrew Lee , and Alexander Noyes . They were previously signed to Jonas Records in affiliation with Hollywood Records but parted ways in 2011. The band released its debut album...
, to perform two shows in one night on November 28, 2008....