December 24, 2009
With fireworks and ceremony, Aria Resort & Casino opened its doors on Wednesday, Dec. 16, and welcomed its first guests. Located in CityCenter, Aria is the centerpiece of a new urban resort destination. Its debut signifies the official grand opening of CityCenter, a city-within-a-city, following two weeks of celebrations for the openings of the Vdara Hotel & Spa; Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas; and the Crystals retail and entertainment district.
Featuring a combination of striking architecture, sustainable design, high-end service and spectacular amenities, Aria dramatically alters the skyline the Las Vegas Strip.
“Aria and CityCenter reflect a combination of innovation, energy and visionary design that we believe will reshape how the world views the destination resort experience and attract visitors from around the globe as a landmark of taste and style,” said Jim Murren, chairman and CEO of MGM Mirage, which developed CityCenter in partnership with Infinity World Development Corp., a unit of Dubai World.
Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, Aria features two breathtaking curvilinear steel and glass towers.
At 18 million square feet, CityCenter is the largest private sustainable development in the world, having received six LEED Gold certifications for its buildings. At an early morning press conference yesterday, company executives and other officials, including the president, CEO and founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, were on hand to pay tribute to CityCenter’s sustainable design, construction and operations.
Among its sustainable distinctions, Aria commissioned the first fleet of clean-fueled CNG stretch limousines.
It also is the first resort on the Las Vegas Strip to generate its own electricity.
Also part of opening events, senior executives from both MGM Mirage and Infinity World had the honor of remotely ringing the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange, marking the project’s major contribution to Las Vegas. CityCenter is creating new jobs for approximately 12,000 people.
A grand opening gala capped the opening day’s activities, giving VIP guests an opportunity to sample Aria’s hospitality and array of amenities.
Finally, at 11 p.m. fireworks filled the sky, reflected in Aria’s curved glass curtain wall, as Las Vegas visitors and locals gathered below eager to enter the resort when the doors opened.
CityCenter is an urban metropolis on 67 acres between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.
A joint venture between MGM Mirage, and Infinity World Development Corp, a subsidiary of Dubai World, CityCenter features Aria, a 61-story, 4,004-room gaming resort; two non-gaming hotels, including Las Vegas’ first Mandarin Oriental and Vdara Hotel & Spa; Veer Towers, the development’s only residential buildings; and Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district. Vdara, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers include roughly 2,400 residences total.
In addition, The Harmon, a 400-room luxury boutique hotel, is slated to open at CityCenter in late 2010.
CityCenter also features a resident Cirque du Soleil production celebrating the musical legacy of Elvis Presley; and a Fine Art Collection with works by acclaimed artists including Maya Lin, Jenny Holzer, Nancy Rubins, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, among others.
CityCenter is a design collaboration between MGM Mirage and eight top architectural firms, including Pelli Clarke Pelli, Kohn Pedersen Fox, Helmut Jahn, RV Architecture LLC led by Rafael Vinoly, Foster + Partners, Studio Daniel Libeskind, David Rockwell and Rockwell Group, and Gensler.
At the forefront of sustainability, CityCenter is one of the world’s largest green developments. Aria, Vdara, Crystals, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas and Veer Towers have all have received LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. This marks the highest LEED achievement for any hotel, retail district or residential development in Las Vegas. The Harmon also is pursuing LEED certification.
For more information about CityCenter, visit www.citycenter.com

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