Stevie Nicks, Pretenders to open Park Theater Dec. 17

Park Theater at the under-construction Monte Carlo is going with a two-punch combination of classic rock when it opens Dec. 17.

Stevie Nicks, with special guests the Pretenders, are set to launch the 5,300-seat venue Dec. 17. Tickets start at $95 and are on sale Monday; available at parktheaterlv.com, ticketmaster.com or at MGM Resorts hotel box offices or concierge desks, or by calling 866-740-7711.

“Stevie Nicks is a legend in the music industry and we are thrilled she will be the first to perform in our new Park Theater,” Richard Sturm, president of entertainment for MGM Resorts International, said this morning in a statement. “We have had the opportunity to host a number of Stevie’s previous Las Vegas shows and we know she will give her fans another sensational performance in December.”

In a phone interview this morning, MGM Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Development Rick Arpin said the Nicks and the Pretenders worked well in terms of marketability and logistics. The acts will be touring through the region in December. Those considerations out-weighed the option of bringing in a popular Las Vegas band such as the Killers or Imagine Dragons to open the theater. The Killers were the headliners when T-Mobile Arena opened in April.

“We were looking for the best local talent, something along the lines T-Mobile, but didn’t work out for a variety of reasons,” said Arpin, who oversees arena operations for MGM Resorts. “Stevie Nicks happens to be routing through this market in mid-December, with the Pretenders as great opening act.”

Long a member of the legendary band Fleetwood Mac, Nicks has recorded six top-10 albums and garnered eight Grammy Award nominations. With Fleetwood Mac and in her solo career, she has sold more than 140 million albums.

Under construction just across from T-Mobile Arena, Park Theater is trumpeting it intimacy, with the farthest seat from the stage at only 145 feet, with a 240-foot-wide projection surface 3D motion graphics and 80-foot-wide LED screen, as today’s release states.

“This new space is unlike any venue in the MGM Resorts portfolio,” Strum said. “Guests will be wowed to see their favorite entertainers, like Stevie, in such an intimate environment with unbelievable sound and video capabilities.”

MGM Resorts officials have said the theater will rotate a series of at least three and up to a half-dozen top-tier headliners, with announcements to follow in the coming weeks.

John Katsilometes’ column runs Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the A section, and Fridays in Neon. He also hosts “Kats! On The Radio” Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on KUNV 91.5-FM and appears Wednesdays at 11 a.m. with Dayna Roselli on KTNV Channel 13. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter,@JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.