Tour T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas: A Puck Daddy Photo Blog

LAS VEGAS -- T-Mobile Arena sits on the Las Vegas strip surrounded by hotels. For now it's hosting special events like WWE this past weekend, MMA fights, concerts and is on the verge of getting a brand new tennant.

Since we're in town for the NHL Awards, we figured we'd take the opportunity to check out the brand new arena. We walked skeptical and walked away absolutely stunned - in a good way - and down right jealous of the new digs in Vegas.

Our tour guide was Director of Event Marketing and Communications for T-Mobile Arena Gina Rotolo. Whenever we brought up hockey, she coyly mentioned, "As of right now, we don't have a team."

Here's a couple photo collages of the many, many picture we took of the inside of the area. We'll point out some of what we learned and what everything is.

Spoiler alert: nothing hockey related are in these pictures. Which is so curious as to why the NHL wouldn't want those kind of photos taken because as Rotolo said Vegas doesn't have a hockey team. We weren't even allowed to see anything related to a hypothetical hockey team's operations.

OUTSIDE ARENA

It was approximately 234980 degrees fahrenheit outside in Las Vegas on Tuesday, so we didn't spent too much time outside.

The top two pictures are of the space in front of the arena where they can hold a large amount of fans for rallies and events. The second picture on the right is some interesting naked lady artwork out in front of the arena with picnic tables for people to hang out when the temperature isn't borderline surface of the sun.

The rest of the pictures are lounge areas accessible from inside the arena.

ENTRANCE & MAIN CONCOURSE

The first and second picture on in the right column are what greets visitors at the main entrance. From there people can go around the arena or up the various ramps, stairs, escalators and elevators to the many bars, lounges, and other spots in the arena.

The middle picture on the third row is the BIGGEST escalator we've ever seen and the picture cuts it off. Rotolo hasn't gotten confirmation, but she believes it's not the largest indoor straight up and down escalator in at least North America.

Since T-Mobile is the named sponsor of the magenta color of the brand is seen throughout the entire arena. There are also charging stations for all phones throughout the arena and in every suite.

The concourse walkways are HUGE so it won't feel like a cattle call while everyone rushes to get their beers during intermission (of a team that doesn't exist).

ARENA FLOOR

Here are a bunch of shots of different views of the arena. We took most of the pictures from the floor or up on the second level. The crew seen here is cleaning up from the weekend's WWE festivities.

The middle picture is the jumbotron from the floor. It's a good sized score board. Definitely not huge but it fits the more intimate feeling arena. If the rink is set up for hockey it can hold 16,500 to 17,000. That doesn't include standing room only tickets sold for the various bars and party suites that can hold up to 100 guests.

PATRON CLUB

Here's one of the many alcohol brand sponsored bars in the arena. They don't just serve Patron here. They serve all kinds of booze while you charge your phone!

(It was dark in the room, but the bar looked pretty cool.)

PRIVATE SUITE

T-Mobile Arena has 44 suites like this one which hold 12 people. The center ring in the first picture on the left are the other suites. According to Rotolo, all suites are sold out for next season and are on multiyear agreements.

Walking past the food and drinks out towards the seats, fans will find a unique padded bench to sit on. They were quite comfy. Built in to the back of each bench are cubbies so you can put your drinks and small purses in without having to risk people stepping on them.

The view of the arena floor is from the suite we were taking photos in.

STELLA ARTOIS BAR

If you noticed in the pictures from the arena floor, you probably saw two purplish Aggro Crag looking things sticking out of the top of the left and the right of the arena. They're actually bars.

The first one we went to was the Stella Artois bar. You can sit at tables or on stools along the glass to watch a game. The first picture of the arena floor was taken from the seat at the very front of the V-shaped bar. The picture below it was from off to the side.

GRAY GOOSE BAR & JACK DANIELS LOUNGE

The other Aggro Crag bar is brought to you by Grey Goose. It wasn't lit up, so the only picture we got it the first one one the left hand side.

The rest of the photos are from a darkened Jack Daniel lounge. Fans can grab a bit to eat, hang out at the bar and watch the game. The bottom right picture is the arena floor from the bar.

HYDE LOUNGE

This was sold to us as the best place to watch a game. Of course we were skeptical until we got inside.

Hyde is a super lounge for all that does all its booking separate from the arena itself. It's setup to party before, during and after the game. There are winged back chairs in corners of the room facing the ice. There are couch seats and a full service part. It's at the far end of the arena between the two Aggro Crag bar setups, and you can see the entire arena floor.

There is a deejay booth for private parties and post game fun. The curtains in the back can be pulled to block out the sun.

Our favorite part of the whole thing was the eccentric decor. There were lamps that looked like they'd come out of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. And curiously, there were knights' helmets and knights from chess boards around the bar.

HMMMMM....WHAT COULD THAT POSSIBLY MEAN?!

MISCELLANEOUS

These are pictures we didn't really know what to do with.

Top left: On one end of the arena at the very top, the Las Vegas skyline is on the wall. It gets light up for events.

Top right: That's our very own Josh Cooper. He asked Rotolo to take us to what could be the worst seat in the house or one that might be obstructed by the Aggro Crags. She brought us here to a seat we agreed would be our favor seat. It's one chair in a row. Josh is sitting in it taking a picture.

Second row right: That's the picture Josh took from our new favorite seat of the arena floor.

Second row left: There is a fancy French word for this hallway that we forgot to write down. Either way, it's cool and it's for VIPs. It's copper inside matches the copper around the back half of the building.

Third row pictures: This is called a 'bunker suit'. Basically, it's under the stands and really nice. Attendees can go there during the game and at intermission. Attached to the suite is a walkway that takes them directly to their seats in the lower tier without having to deal with all the riffraff that can't afford these luxuries.

*Josh Cooper contributed to this post.

**We took all these photos on our iPhones. We're writers, not photographers.

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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @MsJenNeale_PD.

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