Executives from Vici Properties hinted during a quarterly earnings call at the possibility of constructing an arena complex for the National Basketball Association (NBA) on company-owned land in Las Vegas. The Manhattan-headquartered company is not only the largest landowner on the Las Vegas Strip, with properties such as the Venetian, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, and Caesars Palace, but also controls several dozen undeveloped acres of land behind the Planet Hollywood, Paris, and Horseshoe casinos.
In early 2026, the NBA formally began exploring the possibility of establishing a franchise in Las Vegas. This move underscores what John Payne, Vici's President and Chief Operating Officer, described during the call as “massive growth in professional sports” in Las Vegas. Major League Baseball's Oakland A’s are relocating to Las Vegas, and over the past decade, teams from the National Football League, National Hockey League, and Women’s National Basketball Association have been established in the city.
Strategic Expansion and Financial Performance
Although media outlets have been speculating about the development of an NBA arena complex for weeks, nothing has been finalised yet. Executives did not discuss detailed plans during the second-quarter earnings call. However, the addition of such a complex would align with the company’s strategy, which describes itself as an “experiential real estate investment trust”. Its portfolio of 103 properties, both within and outside Las Vegas, is benefiting from a particularly robust era of experiential retail.
According to market research firm Metatech Insights, the global experiential retail market is expected to more than quadruple from 132 billion USD in early 2026. Ed Pitoniak, Vici's CEO, stated in April 2025 that once he mastered the experiential retail approach, he had proverbially “arrived in business heaven”. The company’s half-year figures reflect the boom. Vici reported revenue of 1.1 billion USD in the second quarter of 2026, a 5.7 per cent increase year-on-year. Revenue also rose on a half-yearly basis: 2.07 billion USD for the first six months of 2026 compared to 1.99 billion USD in the same period of 2025.
Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO), a key profitability metric for real estate investment trusts (REITs), increased by 7.8 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter to 679 million USD. Per share, AFFO rose by 4.6 per cent annually to 62 cents. The REIT updated its previous AFFO guidance for 2026 from 2.665 billion USD to 2.695 billion USD to 2.675 billion USD to 2.695 billion USD, and from 2.44 USD to 2.47 USD per share to 2.45 USD to 2.47 USD. Despite these positive developments, the company reported an annual decrease in net income for the quarter of 39.1 per cent to 526.5 million USD, which was attributed to loan defaults on assets.
First Steps in the Caribbean
Executives also highlighted the acquisition of the Carambola Beach Resort in St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands for 20.3 million USD in collaboration with Club Med. The transaction was finalised in June. Vici has leased the property back to Club Med and plans to invest 55.2 million USD in its redevelopment. Payne stated that Carambola would be Vici's first build-to-suit project and the company’s first property acquisition in the Caribbean.
