UFC eyes southwest campus build out with potential hotel, WWE space in mind

UFC eyes southwest campus build out with potential hotel, WWE space in mind UFC officials said they have large plans for the land surrounding the promotion’s Las Vegas office and the Meta Apex facility. The organization owns roughly 70 acres just north of the 215 Beltway between Jones and Rainbow boulevards. The UFC office, Performance Institute and Meta Apex installation are the only portions of the property that have been developed, leaving about 35 acres available for future construction. “We’re presently in the process of processing a master program for this facility, which will see hopefully a lot of things, including … a hotel, expansion with our TKO partner WWE, possibly further collaborations with different sports and entertainment organizations present in Las Vegas,” UFC senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein said Monday. UFC hopes to unveil its plans for the expansion of its campus sometime in the coming months. “Like Lawrence said, we’re just getting started,” UFC president and CEO Dana White said. “We ain a lot of the spot around here, and we’re coming up with a master plan.” UFC recently upgraded Meta Apex to accommodate up to 1,300 people with a retractable bleacher system and a mezzanine on the second level that can hold about 90 individuals. Two state‑of‑the‑art kitchens were added to allow concessions to be sold, a spacious entranceway was installed to improve traffic flow, and LED screens on the east and west sides of the Apex were increased in size. “When you think about the arenas in Las Vegas, you’ve got the T‑Mobile, Allegiant, MGM and others. There’s a new arena in town, and this is it,” White said. “This arena can do anything. We can host events here, from fights, comedy, concerts, tons of conventions that come to town. We’re capable of handling whatever comes our way.” When asked whether the 1,300‑seat space would mark the limit of arena development in Las Vegas for UFC and TKO—which also includes WWE and Zuffa Boxing—White said he was unsure. “We just got this (Meta Apex refresh) done,” White said. “But yeah, I mean, who knows? I mean, this was originally expected to be a workplace for fights, and now we have an arena that we’re already talking about expanding, so who knows?” “But yes, and just as I was saying, I see us competing with each of the major leagues right now.” With Zuffa Boxing making several high‑profile signings, including Shakur Stevenson and Conor Benn, White and the company said they are looking to overhaul a sport he describes as broken. Look no further than the failed Floyd Mayweather‑Manny Pacquiao rematch originally slated for the Sphere in September. After the bout was announced to be streamed live on Netflix, things went downhill, beginning with Mayweather later saying the fight would not be a sanctioned contest as initially announced, but merely an exhibition, and that it taking place at the Sphere was uncertain. What followed was a proposed date and venue change, yet the process ultimately ended in a lawsuit filed in June by CSI Sports Events against Mayweather related to the Pacquiao rematch and a planned event involving Mike Tyson. “The sport is completely busted,” White said. “All these guys who are involved aren’t good at what they do, and I’m really shocked. I don’t know why I’m so shocked at how unsophisticated it is, but I am.”