MGM reportedly offers to host remaining NBA games in Las Vegas

As the NBA decides what to do with the remaining games of the 2019-20 season, MGM Resorts International has offered itself up as a location to hold the remaining regular-season games.

According to the New York Times, MGM Resorts sent proposals to a number of professional leagues, including the NBA, WNBA, the NHL and MLS as a site to hold their seasons. The resort would host the leagues and their teams on a quarantined portion of the Las Vegas strip.

The NYT reported that MGM looks to have one “fully quarantined campus” where the players, teams and coaches would stay and play games. The players’ families, NBA and broadcast media workers would also reside at the campus.

The Mandalay Bay has 4,700 rooms and is connected to two other hotels: the Delano and the Four Seasons. It also brings with it a convention center that holds games for the WNBA Las Vegas Aces. The proposal mentioned that roughly 24 courts could be built at the convention center, with five of the courts used for games and the other 19 designated for practices.

The plan mentioned getting additional court space from the Thomas & Mack Center, an arena on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), that holds the NBA Summer League.

The resort’s bid did not outline what its health and safety procedures would be, but according to the NYT, they would be extensive, and anyone who entered the campus would have to agree to “quarantine protocols” and would need to remain at the resort for their entire trip.

During an MGM earnings meeting Thursday, MGM Resorts International CEO William Hornbuckle said MGM has been in contact with multiple sports leagues. "We have been in ongoing dialogue with leagues and other sporting activities around televised-only events," said Hornbuckle. "Boxing, MMA, NBA, NHL, etc., and we can host some of that, and we are working diligently with those to do that."

There have been other reports of the NBA beginning the season again in Las Vegas, as well as Walt Disney World in Orlando, according to mlive. On Monday, the NBA reportedly began advising fans of its guidelines for credits or refunds for tickets they have purchased. The league also postponed its draft lottery and draft combine earlier this month as it plans the next steps.