T-MOBILE ESTABLISHED AS A TOP VENUE
will forever feel indebted to each other for that special season. Everyone in attendance on that opening night has their own unique connection to this once-in-a-lifetime event, but looking back, it’s important to acknowledge how it wasn’t just the first major league sports contest in Las Vegas featuring the first Vegas born team. It was truly the night that T-mobile Arena became the Fortress, not just a big entertainment venue in a town full of them, but a Strip stronghold for local residents, a sacred site for Las Vegans and Las Vegas visitors alike.
2. Dec. 1, 2017: Vegas Strong Benefit Concert
A vast array of Vegas-based or connected entertainers and personalities including Carrot Top, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, Wayne Newton, Penn & Teller, Celine Dion, Elton John, Jason Aldean, Kurt Busch and Bryce Harper made appearances or added video tributes to this fundraising mega-event anchored by concert sets from Boyz II Men, Imagine Dragons and the Killers. It was another emotional night in the wake of the mass shooting, and one that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for those affected by the tragedy, but it had an uplifting atmosphere while showcasing how the entertainment and hospitality industries in Las Vegas can care for the community. And as Imagine Dragons singer Dan Reynolds noted, that community stretches far beyond the geographic borders of Southern Nevada. “When you’re in Vegas, you are family to this city,” he said.
3. Nov 30, 2018: Fleetwood Mac
Being able to see one of your all-time favorite bands play live in a state-of-theart venue with 20,000 of your fellow fans along for the ride is always going to be a highlight. The epic and beloved rock band Fleetwood Mac may not be touring like this again. (Although, after the current pandemic fully subsides, we might see this act and others like it hit the road again when so many people will be starved for such experiences.) But on this night, Stevie Nicks, Christine Mcvie, Mick Fleetwood and company plowed through so many of the band’s biggest hits from the ’70s and ’80s for two solid hours while the capacity crowd devoured every note.
4. May 28, 2018: Vegas Golden Knights vs. Washington Capitals
When the first puck dropped for a Golden Knights game in Las Vegas, the stated goal was to make the NHL playoffs by the team’s third season and win the Stanley Cup by the sixth. No one ever imagined the Knights would be playing for hockey’s biggest prize in their first campaign. And although this VGK victory would be its only win in the championship series, there’s nothing that could take away from the significance of the first Stanley Cup Final game at T-mobile Arena. One of the big four sports leagues was contesting (part of) its championship event in Las Vegas. This night paved the way for what will come next—a Super Bowl in Las Vegas, possibly in 2024.
5. Aug. 18, 2018: Panic! At the Disco
This concert at T-mobile stands out for a different reason; it was the biggest homecoming ever for bandleader Brendon Urie and one of his group’s biggest shows of all time, the last stop of the first leg of its Pray for the Wicked tour. Most of all, it was a chance for a Las Vegas-bred showman to display his vast skills as Urie floated over the arena crowd on top of a piano, did flips off the drum riser and covered Queen’s epic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”