Hard Rock Las Vegas received county approval Wednesday to build a new 2,000-seat theater, adding another live entertainment venue to the $4 billion Strip resort as construction continues toward its planned 2027 opening.
The Clark County Zoning Commission approved the project Wednesday morning without discussion.
The new theater will add 178,850 square feet to the Hard Rock development and rise five stories, or 126 feet, according to county planning documents. The venue will be built on the resort’s west side between the new pool complex and the Hard Rock Live arena, which is replacing the former Love Theater.
Plans call for roughly 61,000 square feet of auditorium space with seating for about 2,000 guests. The remaining space will include pre-function and backstage areas, back-of-house operations and an upper-level technical grid for lighting and production equipment. The theater will connect directly to the resort’s interior promenade, while a karaoke entertainment venue is planned for the second floor.
When the Review-Journal first reported the proposal last month, Hard Rock executives said the theater would provide a more intimate setting for concerts and other live entertainment, to go along with the approximately 5,000-seat Hard Rock Live venue.
County planning staff recommended approval, writing that the theater is compatible with the resort’s overall design, will activate an underused back-of-house area and complements surrounding resort uses.
The latest plans increase the overall size of the Hard Rock resort to approximately 4.49 million square feet.
The theater is one of several design changes approved for the Hard Rock project since Clark County commissioners signed off on the redevelopment of the former Mirage in 2023. Previous approvals have modified the resort’s pool complex, increased the number of hotel rooms in the planned Guitar Hotel Las Vegas tower, expanded retail and restaurant space, added a sportsbook and incorporated a Tesla Loop station.
Hard Rock Las Vegas and the 660-foot Guitar Hotel are expected to open in the late second half of 2027.
When complete, the resort will feature approximately 3,600 hotel rooms, nearly 175,000 square feet of casino space, multiple pools, two spas, two live entertainment venues and dozens of restaurants, bars and retail outlets.
Contact David Danzis at ddanzis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0378. Follow @AC2Vegas_Danzis on X.
