Henderson hoping to cash in on $84M Dollar Loan Center opening

Henderson and sports officials are ready to double down with the opening of Dollar Loan Center arena.

The $84 million facility hosts its first event this week — the Big West Basketball Championships taking place Tuesday through Saturday.

Envisioned as a smaller version of the Vegas Golden Knights’ home ice, the 6,000-fan capacity arena will be home to a pair of sports teams, the American Hockey League’s Henderson Silver Knights and the Indoor Football League’s Vegas Knight Hawks.

Golden Knights team owner Bill Foley said he’s excited about the possibilities the valley’s newest sports facility has to offer.

“I think what we really did here is build a mini T-Mobile,” Foley said. “It’s about a third of the size, but this version of T-Mobile, the Dollar Loan Center, is on steroids. I mean, it’s beautiful inside and has all the amenities you would want in an events center. It’s great for us and our teams.”

The arena has seats for 5,573 fans for Silver Knights and Knight Hawks games, with the ability to host almost 500 more via standing-room-only sections.

“There really is no bad seat in the house,” Foley said. “We went through great pains in the design process of making sure the sight lines for indoor football, basketball or hockey are all perfect from everywhere in this arena.”

Dollar Loan Center features premium seating too, including 28 suites, with four being party suites, 167 club seats and 92 loge seats.

The facility also features the Craggy Range Sports Bar & Grill restaurant, which will be open daily starting Monday. The naming rights partner, Dollar Loan Center, has a short-term loan retail outlet onsite that is open daily.

The Silver Knights’ team store, The Armory, will be open daily for fans to get their favorite gear.

Crews constructed the 200,000-square-foot facility in about 18 months, largely on the backs of 1,282 individuals working 415,000 labor hours.

To show his appreciation for their hard work, Dollar Loan Center founder and arena naming rights sponsor Chuck Brennan gave the Knights organization $50,000 to divide among the trade workers from the project.

Aside from sports, the arena is planned to be used for community events such as high school graduations, concerts and other one-off events. That flexibility and the projected annual economic impact on the area is why Henderson pledged $42 million in public funding toward the project.

“We’re excited about that and the investment that’s being made,” Henderson Mayor Debra March said. “We’re looking at a $36 million return annually in economic benefit in terms of money back into the economy. Stimulating businesses, helping businesses that are in the District (at Green Valley Ranch) that were faltering. This is just really good for the community.”

March thinks the addition of the arena will help draw new businesses to the area, including some that might have otherwise looked elsewhere.

“There’s a lot of people looking at doing more here because this is an anchor,” March said. “This is an anchor that’s going to do a lot of good for all of Henderson. It really brings the east and the west together with this central gathering place.”

The Silver Knights will start play at the Dollar Loan Center on April 2, when they move from their temporary home, Orleans Arena. Not only does the opening give the team a state-of-the-art place to call home, it also moves the team within a few miles of its practice facility, Lifeguard arena on Water Street in Henderson.

“It gives us competitive advantage,” Foley said. “Most of our Silver Knights players live in Henderson, so they’re bringing that to the community. They’re also in the community, going to police stations, fire stations and schools. They’re embedded in this community, much like VGK is in all of Clark County.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.