Stephen Sylvanie / Special to the Sun
Published Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014 | 2:29 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2014 | 3 p.m.
The Kats Report Podcast
Wranglers update
John Katsilometes and Tricia McCrone talk to Billy Johnson for an update on the Las Vegas Wrangler's search for a new home.
About a year ago, Billy Johnson announced that the Las Vegas Wranglers were leaving Orleans Arena.
Today, Johnson said that he has left the Wranglers.
Johnson, the team’s president since its inception in 2003, said today in a phone conversation that he informed team owner Gary Jacobs on Saturday that he was leaving the team. Johnson gave no timeline and offered to stay with the franchise in its search for a new president.
Johnson said he plans to stay in Las Vegas in a new position in a different organization, which will not be directly related to management of a sports team.
Jacobs continues to pursue a home for his team, which had announced an agreement with the Plaza to play its home games in a facility on that property beginning this year. That deal unraveled in February, as the team said it would not be feasible to build a reinforced facility at the hotel.
Jacobs today praised Johnson’s marketing savvy and tenure with the franchise.
“I thank Billy for his years of service and building a brand that has become incredibly powerful in the Las Vegas community,” Jacobs said in a phone conversation. “He has served this franchise very well.”
Jacobs said a new president would not be named until the team finds a new home.
“It would not make sense to put anyone on the payroll until we work out an arena deal, if that is possible,” Jacobs said. “We continue to reach out to parties who might be interested and those who have already shown interest in the team.”
Jacobs says the Wranglers need to have an arena agreement together by the ECHL’s winter meetings on Jan. 21. If a deal is not reached by then, he would need to decide whether to press forward with plans to remain in Las Vegas.
Johnson’s tenure as team president was marked with such enticing marketing promotions as Dick Cheney Hunting Vest Night, midnight games and a performance by lounge legend Tony Clifton.
The team’s average paid attendance over the course of its run at Orleans Arena was more than 4,000 per game.
The Plaza, renovated in 2011, has a lobby that features marble and inlaid mosaic tiles, chandeliers and a plush front desk that matches the classic Las Vegas feel with a contemporary look.
The hotel has 1,003 rooms and suites that showcase views of the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas. Amenities include world-class entertainment, a casino floor that offers an array of classic gaming choice, which include 600 slot machines, a 400-seat bingo room, 18 table games and 57,120 square feet of casino space.
Among the dining options is Oscar's Beef * Booze * Broads, a steakhouse opened by former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, which is located in the glittery dome enclosure above the hotel's main entrance.
The Plaza sits at the west end of the Fremont Street Experience on the site of the first train depot and auction site in Las Vegas, dating back to the San Pedro-Los Angeles-Salt Lake Railroad in 1905. The railroad was sold to Union Pacific in 1921 and the depot was demolished in 1970 to make way for the Union Plaza Hotel, built in 1971.
The hotel has been featured or is visible in several movies, including the 1971 James Bond film, "Diamonds are Forever;" the 1989 film "Back to the Future Part II;" the 1995 move "Casino," and the 2000 movie "Pay it Forward."
The Orleans Arena, a Boyd Gaming facility located just west of the Las Vegas Strip, is one of the nation’s leading mid-sized arenas, and was recently ranked No. 1 in the United States and No. 5 internationally among venues of similar size by Venues Today Magazine.
The Arena hosts more than 200 events each year, including concerts by top names like Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Van Halen, Brooks & Dunn, Black Eyed Peas, Akon and Rihanna; family favorites like The Harlem Globetrotters and Circus Spectacular; and a wide variety of sporting events, including NCAA basketball tournaments, the West Coast Conference and Western Athletic Conference Basketball Championships, mixed martial arts with Superior Cage Combat, and major motorsports events.
The arena serves as home to the Las Vegas Wranglers professional ECHL hockey team, the Las Vegas Legends professional indoor soccer team, and the Lingerie Football League’s Las Vegas Sin. Stay connected to the Orleans Arena on Facebook (www.facebook.com/orleansarena) and on Twitter (@orleansarena).
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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