The newly-renovated and upgraded Venetian Arena (pictured) at the Venetian Macao – due to host National Basketball Association (NBA) preseason games, starting from October 2025 – has the potential to draw “highly sought-after premium mass” gamblers to the Sands China Ltd resort. That is according to Citigroup, in a Sunday note.
The memo followed a Saturday site visit by the institution, on the occasion of the Venetian Arena hosting an NBA Legends Celebrity Game. It had been reported by local media as a sold-out event.
The volume of visitors observed at the Venetian Macao on Saturday was said Citi, “comparable to that of Golden Weeks”. It was reference to a number of holiday periods annually on the Chinese mainland, that typically coincide with peak business for Macau casino resorts.
The institution remarked: “Sands China is well known for its ability to use non-gaming amenities to drive gaming volumes, with the best example being the [Hong Kong pop singer] Jacky Cheung concerts.”
“The NBA Legends Celebrity Game… shows that it is also able to drive visitation growth with non-concert events,” suggested Citi.
The institution remarked in the memo that Sands China would likely capture a “significant advantage” in gaming market share over its peers when it hosts two NBA preseason games next year, featuring the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns, On October 10 and October 12.
The quality of the Venetian Arena – revamped and rebranded from its former Cotai Arena moniker, with a 1,000-seat reduction in capacity, to 14,000, but with improved VIP facilities – would in likelihood appeal to premium mass gambling customers, Citi suggested.
Sands China has not publicly discussed the value of the multi-year agreement reached with the NBA to bring its preseason games to Macau.
Ticket details are yet to be announced, Sands China said in a Friday press release.
Tickets for Saturday’s NBA Legends Celebrity Game ranged from HKD388 (US$49.90) to HKD1,388 for regular seats at the Venetian Arena. For seats designated “VIP”, up to those seats designated as on the “VVIP floor”, prices ranged from HKD1,888 to HKD3,688.
Non-gaming events such as the NBA games could attract volume of overnighter visitors from “Southeast Asian” countries and better “spend quality”, said Sands China’s president and chief executive Grant Chum in an interview with local Chinese-language media outlet, Macao Daily News.
The Sands China CEO also mentioned to the news outlet that his company would explore collaboration with various airlines, to increase the frequency of Macau-bound flights.
