For the first time in its 10-year history, T-Mobile Arena is hosting volleyball with the Players Era showcase, including powerhouse Nebraska facing UNLV.
Women’s volleyball has seen an explosion in popularity, along with women’s sports as a whole. So it only made sense to finally convert the floor of T-Mobile into a volleyball court and host the sport on the grand stage in what’s hoped to be a multi-year affair.
“There was the want to do more sports and live sports in Las Vegas and with MGM, and we’ve had a really good partner in Players Era when it’s come to men’s basketball and women’s basketball,” said Liz Manthei, executive director of live events for MGM Resorts International. “We watched volleyball grow recently, which is so exciting for all of us and really came together with our partners on taking the leap into women’s volleyball.”
The Players Era event takes place Saturday and Sunday at T-Mobile and includes the aforementioned UNLV and top-ranked Nebraska, in addition to No. 2 Texas and No. 18 TCU. The event features $1 million in name, image and likeness earning opportunities for the participating players.
Having hosted hockey, basketball, concerts, boxing, UFC, Professional Bull Riders events and more, adding volleyball to the mix shows the versatility of the decade-old facility, Manthei said.
It was a no-brainer to bring the Rebels into the event for its first year.
“UNLV is a partner to MGM, and they’re a partner to a lot of Vegas and their hometown,” Manthei said. “I think it was really important for us to include them, especially in this inaugural year and be able to bring them on and have that local fan base.”
Being included in a major event, in their hometown, represented a great opportunity for the team, UNLV head coach Malia Shoji said.
“I think for us it means something bigger. … For us, this is our main event when it comes to history-making experience for our program,” Shoji said. “I think there’s a different sense off gratitude and playing for something bigger than ourselves, not necessarily going into just another tournament.”
Getting her team experience against Nebraska, who the Rebels play on Saturday, and TCU on Sunday could be invaluable for the Rebels. Shoji doesn’t want her team to get lost in the moment; she hopes they come out and have a competitive showing.
“I think this team’s really mature,” Shoji said. “They’re not looking at it as just a really exciting, fun thing, I think they have really big goals for themselves this season. I think they know that to test themselves against someone like in Nebraska when that’s who you get matched up with in a first-round matchup, right, it’s really great perspective and a great baseline to have going into the rest of our season. I think this team’s hungry to be tested. I don’t think they’re just going to be happy to be there.”
Shoji said outside of the matches themselves, being including in the event can also be a recruiting tool.
“Yeah, 100 percent,” Shoji said. “I think that there’s just the recognition of the arenas and the competition that we’re playing, it’s definitely something that is a recruiting advantage for us,” Shoji said.
Ticket sales have been solid and Manthei said she believes volleyball fans will fill out T-Mobile this weekend.
“We’re seeing a lot in Nebraska zip codes popping up, which we’re really excited about,” Manthei said. “We’re really excited to welcome Nebraska fans, they’re always a great time in Vegas and they’re very supportive. We’ve definitely seen it from the Texas side as well.
“Both Texas and TCU. So we’ve seen from both of those area codes really traveling, and we’re super excited to have them in Vegas.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
