Plans are still in the making for building an arena under the Harrah’s Entertainment umbrella. The current status of the arena depends on who Harrahs Casino Resort will pair with in order to make that a reality. The location for the arena is behind Bally’s on Las Vegas’ own, Flamingo Road and encompasses 10 acres of land.

The arena was predicted to be completed in September of 2010, housing 20,000 seats. Harrahs’ Casino resorts and Anschutz Entertainment of Los Angeles made the announcement in 2007 to create the arena, and now the economy has put a temporary halt to their plans.

“Unfortunately, that project has been a victim of the same thing that has afflicted every other project, which is an absence of finance,” Gary Loveman said. “But I think over time that project will get built.”

According to Chief Executive Office, Gary Loveman, of Harrach’s Casino Resorts, there are well developed plans for the future of the arena, they are merely waiting on the economy to pick back up to where funding will become a reality.

Loveman did not comment on whether AEG remain as a partner in the project, but he did state, “We’ll partner with somebody. I think the idea still makes a lot of sense.”

“The actual arrival of the arena is going to be at least down to (2012, 2013),” Loveman said. “The dynamics of professional sports make it more, not less likely, we could have one or two franchises in Las Vegas.”

At this point in the game and with the current struggles of debt for the Harrah’s Casino Resorts, and many other local casinos, there is no set groundbreaking date for the arena. Loveman hopes to see the start of the project within the next three years. As Loveman has stated before he believes that the economy will remain low for another year, then will begin to pick up by 2011, or 2012.

As the economy has effected many different markets, it has also taken its toll on cities to maintain their professional sports teams. With the money that is drawn into Las Vegas, they are hoping to acquire a professional hockey, or basketball team to place in the newly built arena.

As far as the name change of the casino resorts from Harrah’s to Ceasars, there is no timeline set for that, and it boils down to money.

“There’s a modest cost associated with that and we just felt that in a period where we were being so careful with our finances that there was no hurry to do that,” he said. “It is still our intention to change the company’s name.”

Tags: casino, gambling, online