MGE and Live Nation will work together to bring talent to Inspire Super Arena, a 15,000-seat venue that will be part of the Project Inspire development in South Korea. (All images courtesy MGE)
Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and Live Nation are partnering on Project Inspire, MGE’s $5 billion entertainment resort in South Korea.
The development is slated to open in 2021 and will feature a 15,000-seat indoor arena and an outdoor performance space. It will also house three major hotels, a theme park, retail, restuarants and other attractions.
"Inspire is an exciting part of our corporate strategy to expand our brand globally into markets that are not as saturated with casinos and entertainment attractions," said Tom Cantone, MGE senior corporate vice president of sports and entertainment. "South Korea fits that model as we prepare to open a multibillion-dollar integrated resort complex sitting next to one of the busiest airports in the world."
Inspire Super Arena will be near the Incheon International Airport, right in the heart of a burgeoning entertainment market. China is a short flight away.
Tom Cantone.
"Nice to have 700 million people within a 2 1/2-hour flight as your audience," Cantone said.
MGE and Live Nation have been partners in Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., since 2001. The venue came in at No. 21 on Pollstar’s 3Q Worldwide Ticket Sales Top 200 Arenas chart.
MGE owns, develops and manages integrated resorts in Connecticut, Washington, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and New Jersey and owns the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and the New England Black Wolves of the National Lacrosse League.
"Live Nation is already a successful partner of ours in Connecticut, with my friend Jim Koplik," Cantone said. "Our arena there is ranked among the top stop venues in the world. We wanted to take that relationship to the international stage."
Michael Rapino, Live Nation's CEO, said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference in 2017 that international expansion was a major part of Live Nation’s plans.
Cantone said it was important to connect with people on the ground who have experience in the market.
"Both Alan Ridgeway and Paul Antonio, who head up Live Nation in Korea, were excited to join forces with us," Cantone said. "We are looking forward to our partnership and to booking important Live Nation tours and A-list talent coming through Asia."
Inspire and MGE will operate the new arena.
"We have put together the most experienced international team of executive talent who are already on board and in motion." Cantone said. "All booking operations will be centralized out of my MGE corporate office in Conneticut, with coordination at the property level to maintain consistency."
In 2018 alone, Cantone's bookers, Joe Soper and Greg Romeyn, booked more than 600 events at MGE's properties in five states.
South Korea isn't the only international territory MGE has set its sights on. Canada is also in the mix via major casino properties now under construction.
Casino Niagara will be run by MGE starting next summer.
Effective next summer, MGE will assume the day-to-day operations at Fallsview Casino Resort and Casino Niagara, both in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Fallsview has the 1,500-seat Avalon Ballroom Theater, and a 5,000-seat theater is being built next to the Fallsview Casino Resort to be called Niagara Falls Entertainment Centre. Casino Niagara does not have an entertainment venue.
Cantone was excited by the idea of booking operations in Canada, along with MGE's other properties.
"Add Korea and Canada to the mix (and) we will be one of the busiest bookers of live programming in the entertainment industry," Cantone said. "Combined with our other properties in the U.S., this could make for some very timely multiple venue deals and routing opportunities for so many artists.
"Once all of this is completed and in operation, you won’t recognize MGE in the next five years and it will be one of the premier global gaming and entertainment companies in the world," he said.
The news of this partnership comes on the heels of AEG’s announcement Sept. 30 of its partnership with Thailand’s The Mall Group, the venue operator’s first major investment in Southeast Asia.