ABBA might take a chance on A’s stadium site

There is no higher compliment. It is also impossible.

The massively successful concert experience has been running in London for three years. The show sells out seven shows per week in a custom-designed, 3,000-capacity arena. More than 3 million ticket-holders have descended on the show.

Those numbers, and the show’s high production value and iconic music, have drawn Vegas entertainment professionals to England. Bally’s Corp. is the latest entrant in the ABBA sweepstakes. We understand reliably that company officials are in talks with Team ABBA about this partnership.

Yep, the site where the Athletics are to play might be the playground for avatars singing “Take a Chance On Me” or (depending on the team’s record) “SOS.” As we say, you can’t spell “ABBA” without a couple A’s, so get to marketing.

“ABBA Voyage” is a complex project. This show is specifically designed for the contours of its London venue. Build it, and Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid will come.

I believe that will happen. But its options are limited. The show’s technical and territorial requirements are such that it can’t simply be hauled into a venue built for something else.

That takes out Luxor’s main theater (most recently home to “America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live”), Foundry at Sahara (several options out there for this under-utilized space) and KÀ Theatre at MGM Grand (which is home to the Cirque show, but maybe not after its contract times out in November ‘26).

That leaves contenders Bally’s on the corner of Tropicana Avenue and the Strip; Resorts World Las Vegas, which has more than 40 acres of undeveloped land; and Area15, also with enough uncharted territory to build out for ABBA.

Bally’s is the most recent company to enter into these talks. As chronicled by my colleague Mick Akers, Bally’s Las Vegas is planning a 2,500-seat theater and a hotel with 3,000 rooms and also half-million square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space.

This would be in the development’s second phase. The 9-acre plaza with the ballpark would be finished first, in time for the Las Vegas A’s 2028 opener. The theater would be in the next phase, on the site’s southwest corner and leading to the ballpark. There is yet to be a formal timeline for the overall development of the site.

Having seen this show through a jaded prism, the reasons “ABBA Voyage” would work on the Strip are compelling.

The brand had success in that neighborhood with “Mamma Mia!” and its six-year run at Mandalay Bay. “ABBA Voyage” is the best use of avatars I’ve seen on stage. Founding members Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad spent several months working with the vaunted visual effects team at Industrial Light & Magic on choreographing the show. More than 850 directors and artists have designed and executed this show.

The avatar figures are solid, believable, you don’t come out of your head to say, “Why is Björn singing to the curtain?” The show boldly gives every AI-generated figure a monologue, stitching the production numbers, a nice touch that doesn’t go off the rails. A 10-piece band blasts through ABBA’s hits. I’ve seen a lot of ABBA live footage over the years and I can’t believe the original band was as powerful as these live musicians.

The show draws costumed fans, all ages, who arrive grooving. Even if this were just a musical adaptation of ABBA’s hit parade, it would be a great hang.

This is not a play for today, but beyond. To pull a baseball term, it seems like a long throw now, from the warning track to the home plate. But whether in London or Las Vegas, the winner takes all, and the ABBA show is that.

Remember this band

The Las Vegas pop-R&B outfit Fayzone won the “Rock the Canopy” competition among local bands to headline Neon City Festival from Nov. 21 to 23. Fayzone was among five finalist to perform Friday night at the 1st Street Stage at Fremont Street Experience.

Good Charlotte, Deadmau5, and Breaking Benjamin are among the headliners at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center. The event is free, open to all ages, turning downtown Las Vegas into a big playground, running alongside (but not at all related to) Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix the same weekend.

What Works in Vegas

Taylor Swift at Westgate. Air Supply at Westgate. Barry Manilow at Westgate. And, Big Blues Bender at Westgate.

The Swifties’ costume party at Westgate Cabaret filled the lower half of the venue, a couple hundred decked-out fans listening to “The Life of a Showgirl” twice. Hotel President/GM Cami Christensen says, “It went much better than expected,” and envisions more such events in the Cabaret, adding some multi-media onstage (as it was, the Swifties had nothing to watch other than each other during the event).

We might also see a Swift tribute artist at the open International Bar, with the Swifties event inevitably overtaking the casino. I want to live to see this.

In the big room, Air Supply sold out both shows over the weekend. Manilow always sells strong, if not “out,” and he’s back this weekend with a new single, “Once Before I Go” (Hugh Jackman’s song from “The Boy From Oz” musical).

The annual Big Blues Bender is selling its 2026 event this week, with Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Taj Mahal-Keb Mo are among the headliners. This is founder AJ Gross’s strongest Bender field ever. The event is set for Sept. 10-13, and will sell out. Go to bigbluesbender.com for intel.