MBS lobby rejig starts in January, show promoters eyeing coming arena: Paul Town

Renewal work for the lobby at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) casino resort in Singapore will start in early January 2027 and take about 18 months to complete, says Paul Town, chief operating officer (COO) of the property, in an interview with Singapore’s Business Times. He also mentioned that the complex was already fielding enquiries from concert and event promoters regarding access to its under-construction 15,000-seat arena. The arena is part of the US$8-billion expansion of the Marina Bay Sands complex that will also see a fourth hotel tower added. Work on the expansion broke ground in July 2025, and its opening is targeted for early 2031. Mr Town was quoted saying about the lobby work, which is part of a separate US$1.75-billion refurbishment budget for Marina Bay Sands: “For the aesthetics of the lobby, we really want to give that a big lift. “It’s a complicated project because the lobby is so huge, but we will do it progressively – tower by tower – and the impact to our guests will be minimal. I think the end result is going to be pretty spectacular.” The aim is to have the lobby work done by mid-2028, according to the executive. Per investor materials released on October 21 at the time of parent Las Vegas Sands Corp’s third-quarter earnings announcement, work on the Marina Bay Sands lobby is part of “MBS Renovation Phase II”. MBS Renovation Phase II also involves: introduction of redesigned rooms and suites for Hotel Tower 3; VIP arrival area renovation; work on SkyPark and restaurant facilities; and spa and other amenities. “MBS Renovation Phase I” covered Hotel Towers 1 and 2: namely introduction of redesigned rooms and suites and a VIP arrival area; two gaming areas called “Premium Gaming” and “Tower Gaming”; a Paiza Sky Residence; and a “premium” retail and food and beverage offerings. Regarding the arena, Mr Town was cited as saying by the Business Times: “We are still four or five years away from launching the arena into the market, but already we are starting to receive demand from [concert] promoters and MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions] events.” Mr Town noted that the 7,000-seat top tier of the arena could be closed off to host other shows or events at 8,000-seat capacity. “We can absolutely pivot to hold certain sports there – tennis, basketball, UFC [the Ultimate Fighting Championship] and others. Those are opportunities that we will look at,” said the COO. He added that staffing the arena required “early investment” including recruitment and training of “more than 100 specialists” required to run its shows. In September, GGRAsia reported that Ed Sanderson had been appointed vice president, arena, at Marina Bay Sands. Mr Sanderson worked at The Venetian Macao from June 2007 – the year Sands China Ltd’s flagship Macau property launched on Cotai – up to July 2013. Las Vegas Sands is also the parent of Macau casino operator Sands China. Per the third-quarter presentation deck, the Marina Bay Sands expansion project – by Moshe Safdie, architect of the original resort – will also provide: an all-suite hotel with up to 570 accommodation units; 110,000 square feet (10,219 sq. metres) of MICE space; and The Skyloop, with rooftop pools, restaurant and nightlife facilities, and public attractions.