MGM Spending $100M on Mandalay Bay Convention Center Remodel

Posted on: October 13, 2022, 02:56h. 

Last updated on: October 17, 2022, 11:27h.

Todd Shriber @etfgodfather Read More
Expertise: Financial, Gaming Business, Mergers and Acquisitions.

MGM Resorts International announced today it will spend $100 million to spruce up the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Mandalay Bay Convention Center
Inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. MGM announced a $100 million remodel of the venue. (Image: MGM Resorts)

As part of the remodel, the 2.1 million-square-foot convention center will get a variety of technological enhancements as well as redesigned space aimed at complementing the integrated resort’s tropical island theme.

In addition to the complete remodel of all pre-function spaces, meeting rooms and ballrooms, Mandalay Bay’s 1 million square feet of exhibit space also was recently refreshed with new paint, covered pillars and relocated strobe lights,” according to a statement issued by MGM.

Mandalay Bay is home to the fifth-largest convention center in the US. The real estate is owned by VICI Properties, but as a triple-net lease tenant, MGM Resorts is responsible for enhancements and repairs to the venue.

Mandalay Bay Investment Could Be Well-Timed

MGM’s investment in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center could prove well-timed because, after a lengthy slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic, meeting business on the Las Vegas Strip is rebounding.

CFO Jonathan Halkyard said at Deutsche Bank’s 30th Annual Leveraged Finance Conference last month that the operator is seeing “a return to normalcy” for convention and meeting bookings, and that the company’s Strip venues have solid reservation trends through the first half of 2023.

Halkyard said the group and meeting business accounts for 20% of MGM’s turnover, and its pricing sets a base for the rest of the operator’s revenue management endeavors. For MGM and rivals, conventions are vital because those get-togethers boost midweek occupancy rates in Las Vegas.

“Mandalay Bay Convention Center will remain open and fully operational throughout the remodel, with upgrades executed in phases. The project is expected to be complete by the end of 2024,” according to the statement.

More Details on Mandalay Bay Convention Center Remodel

A significant part of the remodel is focused on improving technological amenities in an effort to better accommodate the evolving needs of convention attendees.

For example, 20 double-sided 55″ mobile, flexible display units are being added along with 11 dynamic digital walls. Mandalay Bay also recently installed Cat6A Ethernet cabling throughout its convention center. That cabling doubles transmission speed and significantly decreases download times.

The convention remodel is part of a broader overhaul of the Strip integrated resort.

“Mandalay Bay continues to upgrade and add amenities and experiences throughout the resort, including the upcoming remodel of all 424 rooms and suites at Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas set to take place next year,” according to the statement.

The casino hotel is also adding a Flanker Kitchen + Sports Bar next summer and wrapping up a redesign of STRIPSTEAK in early 2023.