T-Mobile Arena Debuts On The Las Vegas Strip

Homegrown Talent The Killers, Wayne Newton and Shamir Headlined Opening Celebration

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Apr 07, 2016, 08:02 ET

LAS VEGAS, April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- T-Mobile Arena celebrated its grand opening yesterday with a blowout concert headlined by local legends including The Killers; "Mr. Las Vegas" himself, Wayne Newton; and emerging pop artist Shamir.

Fireworks illuminate T-Mobile Arena and The Park, a dining and entertainment district leading up to the arena from the Las Vegas Strip. Bliss Dance, lit in blue, is one of The Park's inspiring art installations and was designed by artist Marco Cochrane to embody feminine power. Photo credit: Al Powers

Brandon Flowers of The Killers told the crowd when he heard T-Mobile Arena was opening, he wanted the Las Vegas-born band to be part of it. Photo credit: Kevin Winters / Getty

At the grand opening press conference before T-Mobile Arena's first concert, Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak presented The Killers' Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. with keys to the city while proclaiming April 6 to be The Killers Music Appreciation Day. From left to right: Jim Murren (MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO), Steve Sisolak, Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., Brandon Flowers, Mary Beth Scow (Clark County Commissioner). Photo credit: Ethan Miller / Getty

Blue Man Group joined The Killers onstage to contribute its rhythmic talents to the band's hit, "Human." Photo credit: Kevin Winters / Getty

Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton, joined The Killers during their set for a collaboration of "Johnny B. Goode." Photo credit: Kevin Winters / Getty

Las Vegas local Shamir became a hit sensation with his debut EP "Northtown" and opened T-Mobile's first concert on Wednesday, April 6, 2016. Photo credit: Al Powers

After The Killers' energetic finale of "Viva Las Vegas" with Imagine Dragons, Wayne Newton, Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, comedian Carrot Top, magician Jeff Civillico and others, magenta fireworks lit up the sky above T-Mobile Arena. Photo credit: Tony Tran Photography

The view from Hyde Lounge T-Mobile Arena provides an epic perspective of the action from within an immersive nightclub environment at the highest level of the arena. Photo credit: Tony Tran Photography

The crowd at T-Mobile Arena sang along to The Killers' set of their biggest hits, including "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like You Mean It," and "All These Things That I've Done." Photo credit: Kevin Winters / Getty

The largest arena in Las Vegas was designed to capture the defining aspects of the city, with copper siding to represent the desert and sweeping balconies accompanied by glass walls to embody the elegance of Las Vegas Boulevard. Photo credit: francisandfrancis

As the sun set on the Las Vegas Strip, T-Mobile Arena surged to life with light, sound and energy. GRAMMY-nominated rock stars The Killers were on their home turf at T-Mobile Arena, captivating a sellout crowd. Lead singer Brandon Flowers was joined by fellow Las Vegas-bred bandmates Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. The stars powered out hits including "Mr. Brightside," "Somebody Told Me" and "Read My Mind." Enhancing the live performance, a 30-foot megascreen projected the set and incredible video throughout the venue. T-Mobile Arena ensured all guests could take selfies, share the moment via Snapchat and more thanks to ridiculously fast network speeds from T-Mobile, America's fastest 4G LTE network, and over 550 Wi-Fi access points integrated throughout the arena.

Opening for The Killers was legendary Las Vegas artist Wayne Newton, who belted out some of his greatest hits including "Danke Schoen," "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Viva Las Vegas." Breakout Las Vegas-born pop artist Shamir, lauded for shattering normative gender labels, delivered a true-to-style set infused with soul and raw talent.

The evening featured a series of unexpected collaborations, which kicked off with a video introduction from late-night TV host and Las Vegas native Jimmy Kimmel.

An on-stage cameo by Blue Man Group during The Killers' performance of "Human" fired up the crowd, as the trio's dynamic combination of music, comedy and technology helped to provide a truly once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

Old school blues met The Killers' alternative sound as Wayne Newton joined Flowers onstage for a rocking collaboration of "Johnny B. Goode."

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was when Imagine Dragons' frontman and fellow Las Vegan Dan Reynolds shared the stage with Flowers – for the first time – to perform "Jenny was a Friend of Mine."

In an epic finale, Reynolds joined Blue Man Group, Cirque du Soleil, comedian Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, magician Jeff Civillico and others in The Killers' rendition of "Viva Las Vegas."

Guests partied to dynamic entertainment throughout the evening while they sipped and sampled T-Mobile Arena's gourmet food and drink. Anticipating grand opening night, Levy Restaurants flew in nearly 700 pounds of live lobsters, 290 pounds of ahi tuna, nearly one million fluid ounces of draft beer, 484 bottles of Patron and much more. Delectable fare such as a made-to-order Poke Bar and Carvery Cart serving BBQ Pork Banh Mi were available for guests along with the venue's signature Pink Highlighter cocktail, served in blinking magenta souvenir cups that dotted the crowd with splashes of colorful light. As guests exited the building onto Toshiba Plaza, magenta fireworks lit up the evening sky.

Earlier in the day, The Killers joined executives from MGM Resorts International, AEG and T-Mobile for an official press conference in Toshiba Plaza. Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak presented the hometown heroes with a Crystal Key to the Las Vegas Strip and proclaimed April 6, 2016 "The Killers' Music Appreciation Day." Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci accepted the accolades and addressed the crowd of officials, venue partners and executives convened at the plaza, including Jim Murren, Chairman and CEO of MGM Resorts; Dan Beckerman, President and CEO of AEG; Andrew Sherrard, Chief Marketing Officer of T-Mobile; Scott Maccabe, President and CEO of Toshiba; and Mary Beth Scow, Clark County Commissioner.

Flowers said, "We've been lucky and we've had a lot of boxes checked that were dreams for us; this is another one of those, and this is going to be one that we're never going to forget. We're really proud to be from Las Vegas and we take a little bit of it with us everywhere we go, we really do."

Nearly two years and $375 million were invested in bringing the 20,000-seat, world-class arena to Las Vegas.

Grand opening celebrations continue throughout the weekend with tonight's "T-Mobile Arena Opening Celebration Concert" featuring multi-platinum, GRAMMY-nominated artist Nicki Minaj with special guest Ariana Grande. The songstresses kick off an extensive schedule of more than 70 events booked for T-Mobile Arena's first season, including the first stop on Guns N' Roses' reunion tour, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, UFC 200 and more.

For high-res b-roll, photography and more, visit: http://bit.ly/T-MobileArenaMediaKit

For more arena information, visit the T-Mobile Arena newsroom at: http://newsroom.tmobilearena.com/

About T-Mobile Arena
T-Mobile Arena is a privately funded indoor arena. The 20,000-seat venue, located on the Las Vegas Strip between New York-New York and Monte Carlo, will host more than 100 events annually, including UFC, boxing, hockey, basketball and other sporting events, major headline entertainment, awards shows, family shows and special events. Las Vegas' newest landmark features 50 luxury suites, more than two dozen private loge boxes, complete broadcast facilities, and other specially designed exclusive hospitality offerings and fan amenities destined to create a guest experience second to none. Toshiba Plaza, an adjacent two-acre outdoor entertainment space, features performance stages, a variety of video screens and other interactive content and display areas. Industry-leading architect Populous designed T-Mobile Arena to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's standards for LEED® Gold Certification. T-Mobile Arena is a joint venture between AEG and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM). For more information visit the T-Mobile Arena website at t-mobilearena.com.