Full Capacity

Friday, Dec. 19, 2003 | 5:27 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION Dec. 20 - 21, 2003

Orleans Arena General Manager Steve Stallworth is nothing if not enthusiastic about his 6-month-old, $65-million, multipurpose facility.

The 8,000-seat venue is the fourth (and smallest) arena in Vegas -- competing with the Thomas & Mack Center (18,000 seats), MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,000) and Mandalay Bay Events Center (12,000).

It is home to the Las Vegas Wranglers, a minor-league hockey team in the East Coast Hockey League, and it is a venue for concerts, horse shows, boxing matches and other events.

As he gives a guided tour, the former University of Nevada, Las Vegas, quarterback (1982-'86) speaks with unfettered excitement about everything at Southern Nevada's newest arena -- from the sound system to the restrooms, from the loading dock to the cheap beer.

Las Vegas Sun: What sets The Orleans Arena apart from its competition?

Steve Stallworth: We are a good, intimate size. At the end of the day what we are able to provide is a great value -- we sell a beer for $3.50 and hot dogs for $2; there are no facility fees; no service charge if you buy a ticket at one of the Coast Casino properties, and we provide free parking.

We give customers value.

Sun: Are there enough hockey fans in Vegas to warrant the Wranglers being here?

Sun: There are a lot of hockey fans. I was shocked. On weekends we put 6,000 people in here, and on a recent Wednesday night we had almost 4,000.

This is designed so it is an NHL-quality hockey rink -- everything is regulation. There is no minor-league building in the country that has a facility like this -- it's nicer than half the NHL facilities.

Sun: Is it difficult to convince promoters to bring their shows here?

SS: It clearly was a challenge with a lot of promoters and agents early on. I called Nashville or Los Angeles and the promoters would say, "Who are you again?" We've had to overcome that a little bit.

But they come here and see what we have, and they are just floored. The word is getting out. Next year we don't have any open dates through April, and May is filling up fast.

Sun: What kinds of productions have you brought to the arena?

SS: We hit the spectrum. Hockey has 36 dates a year. Last week we had the hard-rock group Jane's Addiction. On Jan. 4 we'll have a gospel show. In April it will be the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. We have done country music, and an oldies show with Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. We had a Peter, Paul & Mary concert, and 6,000 people attended.

In a market our size, with four arenas, that's quite an accomplishment. If we can do eight to 12 concerts a year, we'll be happy.

Sun: What else do you have coming up next year?

SS: In 2004 we will do over 100 ticketed events -- four or five of them motor sports events. We've booked motorcycle ice racing, free-style snowmobiling and a monster truck show.

"Disney on Ice" will be here in January, the Harlem Globetrotters in February.

Sun: Are there plans for more western-type events here?

SS: Yes. We'll probably do four or five equestrian events, including two cutting horse shows in 2004. And we're working on getting the National Horse Show to come back -- it was canceled earlier this year because of the fires in Southern California.

The PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's ProRodeo Tour) finals are going to be held here in May -- it's been at the MGM for the last four years, but the MGM didn't have the dates open that the PRCA wanted, and we're the right size for them.

Sun: Wasn't Coast Casinos President Michael Gaughan going to put in an equestrian center here before an arena?

SS: Yes, and he is going to have an equestrian center. When he builds South Coast at Silverado Ranch Road and Interstate 15, he's going to include a 4,400-seat equestrian center. It will be the most user-friendly one in the country, with 1,200 permanent stalls that are climate controlled, a permanent dirt floor and 80,000 square feet of exhibition space.

It's just going to be fabulous. There won't be any competition for it in this market. Competition will come from Scottsdale (Arizona), Reno and Los Angeles.

Sun: What's special about the Orleans Arena?

SS: Our secret weapon is a 3,000-square-foot loading and staging area. We can load or unload five trucks here at the same time. Brooks & Dunn had a 14-truck show. They loaded in 2 1/2 hours, seven trucks at one time. The Thomas & Mack can only do one truck at a time.

Sun: How do you view your competitors when it comes to concerts?

SS: We have been conservative on the concert scene. We are a locals casino. We really can't compete with Mandalay Bay or the MGM Grand when it comes to what they are able to do on the music side -- at the end of the day, they have more seats.