Las Vegas, Nevada to host 2019 Skate America!

[topaz]

I checked air fare and was seems weird because Vegas is usually lower fare. But am thinking about it. Sounds like a FSU party is in order

I already booked my hotel and airfares to Vegas are usually cheaper. I'll wait until September before purchasing my air tickets. Because it's Vegas, I'll probably arrive on Wednesday and leave on Tuesday.

 

[jamesy]

Has USFS found the one location that will bring the west and east coast together?

 

[Marge_Simpson]

I am in!!!
For those grumbling about resort fees, they are always negotiable
Tip: download the My Vegas Rewards app and start playing, you play for points which you can exchange for lots of goodies in Vegas.

 

[cygnus]

I'm in too- but I'll probably stay on the strip and take cabs- it's not so far and I have a lot of Mlife points I can use for my hotel room.

 

[avivadawn]

YASSSS! I live here, and while I would have loved for it to be at T-Mobile, I suspect that it would have been trying to dodge the Knights home games at that time of year, which are usually sell-outs.

I hope that they will be looking for volunteers, since I'd love to volunteer for this. <3

 

[Vash01]

Vegas is the next best thing to having it in Phoenix. If I stay in my time share, I can save on the hotel. Since I will be at the rink most of the time, it doesn’t make sense to pay for a hotel that has entertainment.

 

[legjumper]

This makes sense: Orleans Arena has been searching for new ice event opportunities for several years now since the Wranglers ECHL hockey team folded a few years ago (example: this arena hosted the Continental Cup of Curling last week).

I just was at the Orleans at the Continental Cup as a volunteer! Great venue - no bad seats and probably the perfect size for an event like Skate America.

 

[Matryeshka]

I have not been to a skating event in ten years. Mainly because of money, but the last two years logistics. But there are flights from New Orleans to Las Vegas I swear every three minutes and the flight can be as low as $64. And it will be warm.

Warm is important. And it's ORLEANS ARENA. That's a SIGN.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Interesting location..

but wonder how tix will sell...as Vegas doesn't seem to be home to much fan base...??..???

But here's what I do know.. all my non-USA friends... LUUURVEEEE going to Vegas........ so there that....

 

[avivadawn]

Interesting location..

but wonder how tix will sell...as Vegas doesn't seem to be home to much fan base...??..???

But here's what I do know.. all my non-USA friends... LUUURVEEEE going to Vegas........ so there that....

9500 seats...you never know.

 

[Rob]

Wow!

 

[maatTheViking]

I once went to a horse event in Vegas, and I don't remember the arena (but it was probably bigger than 9500 seats?) it was about 15-20 min walk from, uh the big hotel next to the Tropicana or the castle one? MGM? Anyway that was the official hotel and they had free shuttles. Ofc that event was bigger - I think it was the World Cup Finals.

I'm going to have a hard time deciding between Kelowna and Vegas...

 

[AnnM]

I already booked my hotel and airfares to Vegas are usually cheaper. I'll wait until September before purchasing my air tickets. Because it's Vegas, I'll probably arrive on Wednesday and leave on Tuesday.

Thursday arrival and Monday departure should also have some decent airfares.

 

[aftershocks]

That looked really smooth from Cain/Leduc.

OT, but yep, C/L were in the zone. Now they can wing their way to 2019-2020 Skate America, and spend time at a few casinos while they're at it, eh.

Next stop for #SkateAmerica: Las Vegas! We're headed to Orleans Arena from Oct. 18-20, 2019. Read more:
https://www.usfigureskating.org/story?id=92100&type=media

Website is up: https://www.2019skateamerica.com/

That's exciting news! But I wonder what the plan is to keep skaters', officials' and fans' attention on business at the arena and away from the casinos!

Also, what with event ticket and airline prices, not to mention hotel and venue transportation costs, etc., it looks like some fans may have to try their luck at some of the casinos just to get back home. I mean that's if they have anything left at all to bet with. Las Vegas SA is for people with bucks to spare or a load saved up, eh! Exciting nonetheless. Destiny Calls in the Desert! Maybe someone might hit the jackpot, in more ways than one.

I think SA tends to be more packed than it's looking at the arena in Detroit these past days! My God, it looks like a wasteland in the Little Caesar's arena. No Japanese fans to fill the seats. Come to think of it, maybe the name, 'Little Caesar's Arena' may have conjured up ideas for USFS of bigger and better crowds in Vegas. But that's putting cart before the horse unless and until they figure out how to better promote the sport to attract a larger audience.

If the ticket prices were more reasonable, they might get better crowds, but I guess they can't take the chance of lowering prices in the hopes of attracting enough attendees. Still, USFS needs to hire somone who knows how to creatively sell the sport of figure skating to U.S. consumers. There's so much excitement and drama in figure skating, I'm not sure why the fed can't get with it and find a promoter who gets figure skating and can then create buzz, excitement and interest among a wider audience.

 

[manhn]

Vegas is in no way more expensive than, say, Anaheim or Lake Placid. You can find easy affordable hotels. And airfare and transportation is affordable too. My hotel for Everett (and Kent and Portland) is way more expensive than what I pay for a similar hotel in Vegas. Food too. Don't need to go to a fancy restaurant. Go to Shake Shak or In n Out.

 

[overedge]

The arena is not close to the Strip or Fremont Street, and walking from one place to another in Vegas takes a lot longer than you would think, with crowds and the huge sizes of some of the hotels. I don't think there will be any problem with getting people to stay in the arena.

 

[manhn]

Yeah, that is my biggest disappointment. Using the NHL arena was wishful thinking.

 

[legjumper]

The Orleans Arena is attached to the casino and hotel, so if you stay at the hotel, transportation to the arena won't be an issue, and if you drive, the parking is free. The casino has many different restaurants inside it, from food court-level stuff (Fuddruckers, Subway, Sbarro, Baskin Robbins) to medium casual (TGI Friday's, upscale pub, Japanese/sushi, etc.) and higher-end dining. Across the street there's a Panda Express, and about a block away there's Denny's and Starbucks. So unless you want different dining or different lodging, you really won't ever need to leave the Orleans while you're there. If you're staying at the hotel, there's also a shuttle about every 45 minutes to the Strip.

Just another note - smoking is allowed inside the casino, and the smoke smell seeps into the lower-level hotel rooms. I recommend making sure your room is in the double-digit floor levels to avoid the smoky smell.

 

[Carolla5501]

Vegas hotels just cost more on the weekends, but I just checked Orleans and by comparison it's not outrageous. If you have a car and do a non-casino hotel you can probably get a better deal.

Food costs in Vegas can range from "dirt cheap" to "out of this world" so there's something for everyone.

Personally I think it sounds like a much better location then some they have had. I can't even count how many cities have non-stops to Vegas, but generally all large cities in the US, most medium cities and non stops from the UK. Heck you can get a non-stop from Knoxville TN..... (Which is the home of "connect through Atlanta to go ANYWHERE")

 

[Spikefan]

[QUOTE="legjumper, post: 5515198, ]

Just another note - smoking is allowed inside the casino, and the smoke smell seeps into the lower-level hotel rooms. I recommend making sure your room is in the double-digit floor levels to avoid the smoky smell.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the heads up about smoking, do they do a good job at filtering the smoke? I will avoid the casino but I don’t want to smell it in restaurants/hallways/elevator. This might alter where I stay.

 

[legjumper]

Thanks for the heads up about smoking, do they do a good job at filtering the smoke? I will avoid the casino but I don’t want to smell it in restaurants/hallways/elevator. This might alter where I stay.

The restaurants in the casino are non-smoking - but they're still in the casino, and some of them are open air/don't have doors or windows that could block the smoke. So if you're really sensitive to smoke, you may want to dine elsewhere.

 

[Matryeshka]

Interesting location..

but wonder how tix will sell...as Vegas doesn't seem to be home to much fan base...??..???

But here's what I do know.. all my non-USA friends... LUUURVEEEE going to Vegas........ so there that....

They'll sell well to people like me. Like I said in my earlier post, what kept me from going to the last Skate America was logistics. Lake Placid is far from an airport, so I'd have to rent a car. It's in the mountains and possibility of snow means driving would be dangerous for someone from the flat South. There aren't as many hotel options and Lake Placid is NOT CHEAP. I looked.

Whereas Vegas has many deals from all sorts of angles. Many Vegas hotels are cheap, and deals are easy to get, because they want to make the hotel attractive so you can justify spending more in the casinos. The food is expensive, but no more expensive than any other tourist trap or convention center. Plus, most major airports have direct flights to Vegas. It's easy to get to. One of the reasons I didn't go to Everette was because even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I had to take an extra day off work just to get there and missed the exhibitions and still had an awful flight schedule.

A friend of mine has never been to Vegas. She's a casual fan of skating--she makes a point to watch during the Olympics, and other times, she'll sit and watch if she sees it on and it looks in her words "pretty." Like me, she's not a gambler but enjoys a good cocktail. She wants to gamble for ten minutes just to say "while gambling in Vegas..." She is seriously considering going. It might draw in other people like that.

Also, the first Cirque show I ever went to was because the hotel threw in either free or discounted tickets. Now I've seen eight Cirque shows. It's a GREAT marketing tool for that reason. Checking into the Orleans hotel? Here's your FREE TICKET TO SEE SPARKLY PEOPLE. Most people won't use them or will just be confused but there's a chance some will fall in love with the sport. If the USFS has any sense, they'll flood the major hotels with free/discounted tickets to give to guests. I also think it's a draw for international fans. I don't think most people in Japan or Russia care about the "miracle on ice" but they've heard of Vegas.

 

[Willin]

I need to go. Badly. But I can't figure anything out for a while given that I only get my work schedule a month in advance... -.-

 

[maureenfarone]

I need to go. Badly. But I can't figure anything out for a while given that I only get my work schedule a month in advance... -.-

Figure out now where you might like to stay. Find a hotel that has an easy cancellation policy (cancel up to a few days in advance with no penalty). Book the hotel. When you get your schedule if going is impossible, cancel the hotel with no penalty. Look over rental car options versus taxi, uber, and lyft and determine which might be your best option. The really tricky part would be the flight which will cost more if you need to wait til the month before.

 

[4rkidz]

I'm in too- but I'll probably stay on the strip and take cabs- it's not so far and I have a lot of Mlife points I can use for my hotel room.

I might be up for this one too!! I’m in Europe month before but I think I can squeeze this in..

 

[4rkidz]

[QUOTE="legjumper, post: 5515198, ]

Just another note - smoking is allowed inside the casino, and the smoke smell seeps into the lower-level hotel rooms. I recommend making sure your room is in the double-digit floor levels to avoid the smoky smell.

Thanks for the heads up about smoking, do they do a good job at filtering the smoke? I will avoid the casino but I don’t want to smell it in restaurants/hallways/elevator. This might alter where I stay.[/QUOTE]

Make sure you read the reviews as last time I was in Vegas we had to move rooms due to the smoke below rising up to the hotel rooms. It was a decent hotel too so we ended up moving to one of their towers which were none smoking

 

[zebraswan]

I used to go to Vegas pretty often, but it's been a few years and I don't remember the resort fees being so high. It's kind of outrageous, really, that they can get away with this. Keep in mind these are charged daily on top of the room rate and taxes. This list seems fairly current. There are a small handful of places without fees but they may not end up being any cheaper or more convenient, from what I found.

https://www.vegasunzipped.com/vegas-resort-fees/

 

[Carolla5501]

The fees at Orleans aren’t horrid and at least with the shuttle to the strip you feel like you are getting something for it. My plan is to rent a car for a few days to visit friends and then check into the hotel and dump the car. Car saving will pay for resort fee

 

[Doggygirl]

What someone said up-thread about 'people wanting to go just because it's Vegas' came home to roost for me! LOL, Mr. Doggy said "maybe I'll go too!" Now that sounds really nice on the surface! And Mr. Doggy is a fabulous husband and also happens to be my best friend! But he is NOT a figure skating fan, and is NOT a fan of watching other people in athletic competition! So I had to figure out a way to nicely nix this idea so I can go and binge watch practices and competition to my hearts content!

So here is what I think we will do.

The weekend before SA, we will both head to Vegas and see some shows, etc. that weekend. Mr. Doggy has to be home during the week for his business, so he would go back home Sunday night. I would then stay on and relax during the first part of the week (perhaps do some sight seeing - anything but gambling) and then enjoy SA the following weekend.

So for those of you who know the area well, if you were in Vegas for a few extra days by yourself, is there any sight seeing in particular you would do? Is there anywere you would really love to stay? I love to enjoy beautiful surroundings and do sight seeing, etc. during the day time. Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me as I plan this trip!

 

[Frau Muller]

I wonder if Alysa Liu will be invited to skate before and/or after every event?