UFC looking to expand fan experience at its Las Vegas APEX facility

Looking to add a larger fan element at its Apex facility, UFC has plans to add the ability to host up to 1,000 people for events.

The UFC’s request to expand the now 130,00-square-foot Apex is slated to be up for approval at Wednesday’s Clark County Zoning Commission meeting.

UFC’s Apex , located off the 215 Beltway near Rainbow Boulevard, allowed the UFC to continue to produce fight cards throughout the pandemic, sans fans, even as Las Vegas and many other cities were all but shut down. The facility not only has the ability to host events, but also has advanced production capabilities, allowing for streaming worldwide.

“UFC APEX has become the defacto home for UFC events during the pandemic, and we’re looking to create additional seating and enhance the fan experience for future events,” a UFC spokesperson said of the filing.

After purchasing the building in 2018 and conducting a multi-million dollar renovation, UFC opened the Apex facility in June 2019. The facility includes over 50,000 square feet of production space and 70,000 square feet of office area. The popular reality television series “the Contender” has been filmed in part at the UFC Apex.

The zoning application indicates the UFC plans to add the ability to host up to 1,000 people and add food and alcohol service, ticket sales and a souvenir shop to the space.

The seating would not be fixed at all times, allowing for the space to be flexible for various uses. Those could include fights, concerts, music events and galas. The space could also be rented out for rehearsals.

Expanding the facility will require additional parking, according to the filing. The Apex building has 371 parking spaces, but will be required to have 562 with the expansion.

The project would be carried out in phases, with plans to allow fans to initially park at Apex and the company’s headquarters next door and be shuttled to the event happening at the Apex.

The events would occur after UFC headquarters business hours and would not interfere with employee parking, the filing said. Also noted, a portion of the UFC headquarters has not been built, resulting in excess parking for that building.

There are 180 excess spots for the headquarters, nearly accounting for the 191 spots needed for the possible Apex expansion. Despite that, phase 2 of the project includes adding more parking specifically for Apex to provide the needed amount.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.