The move to the mid-Strip location is to guarantee the best experience for the archers and a long-term future for the competition.
There was a sense on Wednesday of the Vegas Shoot community getting used to the huge new spaces, and the pros were as excited as anyone: "I think the new venue is exactly what the Vegas Shoot needs. To grow and be a more professional elite level event," said multiple Vegas champion Dave Cousins. World number one compound woman Ella Gibson added: "The venue looks amazing, the stands and trade show looks bigger and much easier to navigate and get around from the old venue, so I think that’s a massive improvement. And the Championships hall is super close to the rooms in the Horseshoe."
The competition was previously held at the South Point hotel & casino since 2012, although the long history of the competition has seen it held in many famous Las Vegas venues including the Riviera, the Sahara, the Tropicana and the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
The transition to the Paris & Horseshoe venues, part of the Caesar's group of resorts is to give key improvements: expanded event space for competitions and vendors, a breathtaking setting for finals, more hotel rooms adjacent to the tournament, a wider selection of restaurants, improved accessibility, and a prime location for enjoying Vegas’s main attractions.
The NFAA operations director Brittany Salonen-Geuther gave us more details: "We were growing so much at South Point that we were bursting at the seams. We were out of hotel rooms, the restaurants were packed," she said. "So we felt like we had to take a leap. Everything is bigger and financially everything's more expensive, but we can elevate the experience of the Vegas shoot so that they're here on the Strip and they're surrounded by all the attractions."
"It's the full Vegas experience. We love the South Point but it was kind of away from it all. We just feel like this is such a great experience for all, for families, for couples, for people in their 20s and 30s, there's something for everybody." With the move comes another big opportunity; to hold the finals at the huge Planet Hollywood theater, an adjacent venue that has seen stars including Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez perform. "The portion that we're using holds 4,500, so that's way more than the South Point arena," said Brittany. "It's a really cool theater that has had a lot of big names. It's going to be a very different experience than we've done before, with amazing lights and sound and comfortable seating with assigned seats. You can go there, get your popcorn, sit down, and it's going to be like more of a real show. I think people are going to be really surprised at what we're able to do in there, just with the technology and the acoustics and how it's built."
Tickets for the final shootdown show will be free, courtesy of the Easton Foundation and the NFAA Foundation, and announcements will be made shortly about how to get tickets. "They will be distributed Saturday and Sunday just to make sure that we are assigning them if people who are sure they're going to be able to attend. We feel by doing it at the end of the week or at the beginning of the weekend that people will have a better idea of their plans, so that we make sure we fill the place." "So we're excited about that. But we're going to have a couple of different opportunities for you to sign up for tickets, and we'll make sure that everyone gets tickets that wants to attend," said Brittany.
The Vegas Shoot’s new home promises to elevate the event to new heights, offering archers and fans an unforgettable experience in the heart of the Strip. With a world-class venue, enhanced accessibility, and an electrifying finals setting, the future of this iconic competition looks brighter than ever.
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