- November 8, 2016
- Posted by: SportsV
- Categories: Home News, Industry News, News
The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) has confirmed that it has added two world-class partners in the form of ICON Venue Group and HOK to the team bringing a groundbreaking, next-generation venue to Las Vegas. The state-of-the-art facility will be the world’s largest venue built specifically for live music and entertainment.
ICON Venue Group (ICON) has been named owner’s representative and project manager, with HOK named as the lead design consultant and architect of record.
HOK will collaborate with the MSG to provide architectural and interior design services and will be responsible for coordinating all engineering disciplines.
Located on Sands Avenue between Manhattan Street and Koval Lane, the new Las Vegas venue will feature a scalable seating capacity, enabling it to present a wide variety of shows — from the largest touring concerts to specially designed residencies and full-blown productions and events. In addition to superior acoustics, use of state-of-the-art technology throughout the building will help create a venue capable of delivering new and innovative experiences for artists and fans. The venue will reinvent the VIP experience with luxurious seating options and exclusive clubs and lounges, while providing first-class amenities in deluxe, dedicated areas specifically designed to elevate the artist experience.
The venue team will work together to create the premier destination for fans from around the world who want to see the biggest and best artists in a next-generation venue designed specifically for live music and entertainment.
David O’Connor, President and CEO of the Madison Square Garden Company, said:
We are making important progress on our plans to expand MSG’s portfolio of celebrated venues and create a world-class, music and entertainment destination in Las Vegas. Our esteemed new partners, ICON and HOK, have each established reputations for spearheading bold, game-changing projects that set new standards for innovation and excellence. We look forward to working with them and our other valued partners to deliver a truly groundbreaking experience in Las Vegas — one that will ultimately redefine the large-scale live music and entertainment landscape and set a new benchmark for both artists and fans.
George Heinlein, a regional leader of HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice, said:
HOK thrives when collaborating with a progressive client like MSG, which is willing to challenge the status quo. We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to create an innovative design that brings to life MSG’s vision for a new kind of venue that will transform the entertainment industry.
Tim Romani, CEO of ICON, said:
It’s an honor to work with MSG to help bring their vision of creating a world-class entertainment venue to one of the most vibrant cities in the world. We look forward to combining the creativity of MSG with the talent of HOK to deliver an extraordinary live performance environment.
HOK previously worked with ICON on Rogers Place, the new home venue for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers that opened in September. FYI: We will be running an interview with Rogers Place General Manager, Eric Bayne, in the coming weeks.
Other project team members include entertainment industry leaders Las Vegas Sands, Azoff MSG Entertainment, Live Nation and Oak View Group.
Irving Azoff, Chairman and CEO of Azoff MSG Entertainment, said:
The tremendous success of the Forum validates that if you bring a large-scale venue focused on music and entertainment to the right market, you can create a thriving destination. Las Vegas is as an entertainment capital that does not currently have a state-of-the-art venue created specifically for major concerts. We think this represents our next opportunity to replicate what we did in Inglewood, California and have put together a team – which now includes industry leaders ICON and HOK – to create a venue in Las Vegas that will pioneer the next generation of music and entertainment experiences.
About The Madison Square Garden Company
The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) is a world leader in live sports and entertainment that presents or hosts a broad array of world-class events – including concerts, sporting events, family shows and special events – in an unparalleled mix of celebrated venues that span four of the nation’s largest entertainment markets. Those venues are: New York’s Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; The Forum in Inglewood, CA; The Chicago Theatre; and the Wang Theatre in Boston. In addition, MSG has a diverse collection of properties that includes some of the most widely-recognised sports franchises: the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL) and the New York Liberty (WNBA), along with two development league teams — the Westchester Knicks (NBADL) and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). The Company also features popular original entertainment productions — the Christmas Spectacular and New York Spectacular – both starring the Radio City Rockettes, and through Boston Calling Events, produces outdoor festivals, including New England’s premier Boston Calling Music Festival.
More information is available at www.themadisonsquaregardencompany.com
About ICON Venue Group
ICON Venue Group is the leading Owner’s Representative and project management firm in the sports, entertainment, and public assembly industry with a portfolio of many of the most successful venues throughout the world. The Group provides a comprehensive spectrum of facility development services required to guide a new facility project from its initial conception through planning, design, construction and opening to ensure years of successful operation for both public and private sector clients in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. ICON has managed the development of home venues for NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB MLS, MLL, AFL, CHL, NBDL, DEL and BBL franchises totaling more than US$6bn. ICON is a division of leading entertainment and sports agency, Creative Artists Agency (CAA).
Over more than a decade, ICON has worked on over 40 venue projects throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. ICON’s music and entertainment portfolio includes The O2 in London, which has earned top honors every year since opening in 2007, and the newly-opened Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, which is the world’s first indoor entertainment and sports venue to earn LEED Platinum certification. In September, ICON celebrated the grand opening of Rogers Place, the new home venue for the Edmonton Oilers, which was a project designed by HOK.
For more information, visit: www.iconvenue.com.
About HOK
HOK is a global design, architecture, engineering and planning firm. Through a network of 23 offices worldwide, HOK provides design excellence and innovation to create places that enrich people’s lives and help clients succeed. DesignIntelligence consistently ranks the firm as a leader in sustainable, high-performance design and technology innovation.
HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice leads the planning and design of world-class sports and entertainment facilities that are the centrepieces of vibrant mixed-use districts. The group has designed iconic arenas, stadiums, training facilities and recreation centres, and is a recognised leader in sustainable, high-performance design and technology innovation. Current and recent projects include Rogers Place and ICE District in Edmonton, Alberta; Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; FC Barcelona’s New Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona, Spain; and Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California.
For more information, visit hok.com
Image source: Madison Square Garden Company (MSG)
