Thomas & Mack Center is not a particularly memorable place, but we’ll still review it anyway. The facility is best known for UNLV basketball and to a lesser extent NBA Summer League. I’ve only seen the Runnin’ Rebels play although I’d imagine everything is the same for the rookie ballers or Team USA.
From the outside, the Thomas & Mack Center looks pretty cool. Especially at night. Then you go inside and it’s just the most underwhelming experience imaginable. The arena isn’t bad or offensive. UNLV fans are perfectly tolerable. That being said, there is nothing memorable about the venue. The nicest thing you could say is that it exists.
Seating at Thomas & Mack Center is good enough. The lower bowl ushers are pretty strict, but they are happy to let you mill about and sit where you want in the upper-level sections as long as it’s not a big game.
Something that becomes very noticeable when walking around the stadium is it feels like the scrolling background in the Flintstones where you keep going past the same three things. Everything is just so similar. The sections all look the same. The aisles all look the same. It is impossible to tell where you are on the concourse because the concession stands and entrances are indistinguishable from one another.
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That’s not entirely true. There is a random Dairy Queen in Thomas & Mack Center. You can use that to determine if you’ve done a full lap around the arena. And I guess it is cool to eat a Blizzard while watching basketball.
I’ve only gone to UNLV games during the holidays when attendance could best be described as poor. I didn’t have to pay for parking in the general lot and plenty of spaces were available. Getting out is also relatively quick and painless. This is experience is likely to be totally different during popular events.
If you are a sports fan who just enjoys going to games, then check out Thomas & Mack Center if UNLV is in town. Don’t expect to be impressed though.
Related: What’s it like in the T-Mobile Arena standing room only sections?
Thomas & Mack Center review score: 5
I can’t believe the NBA hosted the 2007 All-Star Game at Thomas & Mack Center. This was a ridiculous event hosting decision on par with the Super Bowl being played at Stanford Stadium in 1985. It just makes no sense in hindsight.
As for the stadium itself, it’s best described as meh. The venue is not bad by any metric. However, Thomas & Mack Center is extremely bland and generic. In a city like Las Vegas, you would expect some more bells and whistles. Instead, you get a Dairy Queen.
