It seems that Rock in Rio USA will not be returning to the Las Vegas Festival Grounds at the MGM Resort, although there has yet to have been an official 100% confirmation of this suspicion. It’s understood that MGM Resorts officials have been attempting for months to work with executives in Brazil to return Rock in Rio to Las Vegas in May 2017 as originally scheduled. Several internal deadlines, that includes one last month, set by MGM for an announcement regarding the festival’s return have passed.
Rock in Rio’s Vegas debut had superstars headlining the main stage like Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, No Doubt, and Metallica. The festival was considered a staging success, excluding the Ferris wheel which was out of commission due to maintenance issues, with its themed Rock Street faux neighborhoods and a zip line carrying fans above the grounds, but was not considered a financial success. The festival drew in only about 140,000 attendees over four nights out of the 328,000 that were originally expected. Industry experts expected the debut year of Rock in Rio’s losses to be less than $20 million, which is normal for a first year festival, but the actual losses were estimated between $24 and $28 million. The original investment in Rock in Rio Vegas was $50 million, which includes the construction of the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.
MGM Resort’s senior vice president of entertainment booking and development, Chris Baldizan, said, “No Rock in Rio” and “We’re working on some other things. Until they say otherwise, yes” it’s the end of the Rock in Rio Vegas festival.
