Lee’s Family Forum Welcomes Vegas Sports, Entertainment Away from Strip

^{Grammy winner TobyMac has played some of the most successful shows in the history of Lee's Family Forum. (Photo: Gdp Photos / Media Punch via Alamy Live News)}

LAS VEGAS – When Lee’s Family Forum (LFF) opened as The Dollar Loan Center four years ago in March, it was designed to give the Henderson Silver Knights – the minor-league affiliate of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights – a home off the Las Vegas Strip and also host family events for nearby residents. Unlike other arenas near the Strip such as the former home of the Silver Knights at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, LFF has given acts not necessarily comfortable performing in Sin City a nice alternative in a more suburban setting.

In fact, the naming change that was made two years ago in April proved to be a smart move because it is a much more accurate description of what the arena really is – a family-friendly arena. LFF’s Director of Booking Max Adler previously worked with AEG and Live Nation, and he said there is a distinct difference in signing performers to play at his smaller arena now in Henderson compared to his former Strip venues which had a higher capacity and catered less to families.

“I'm pitching the fact that from my balcony, I can see the Strip, (and) it's only 10 minutes off the south end of the Strip,” Adler said. “To some folks, I'm pitching to them, ‘Hey guys, you don't have to market your event as being a Vegas locale. It can be marketed as Henderson.’

“Sometimes artists want to play a secondary or tertiary market, and they don't want to play those main markets. So this is a way for me to open up the eyes to the promoters and to the agents of here's a way for you to play in the metropolitan Vegas area but not call it Vegas.”

Sports Teams Leaving Casinos But Not Las Vegas

The Silver Knights will always be the first sports team to call LFF their home, but the very first event hosted there was the Big West Conference Basketball Championships in March of 2022. They played their first games at LFF a month later followed by the Vegas Knight Hawks (Indoor Football League) that same year and the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (National Lacrosse League) in 2024.

The Knight Hawks are the reigning IFL champions and won the Western Conference title at LFF last August. Their owner Bill Foley also brought the Vegas Golden Knights and Henderson Silver Knights to Nevada, playing an integral role in the state’s sports history. Foley had a vision for bringing the local community together with multiple teams playing in a new $84 million facility in the suburbs, and he made that a reality with half of the funding coming via a public investment from the city of Henderson.

“Ever since the Golden Knights first arrived in Las Vegas, our community has surpassed all expectations to set a new standard as one of the best new markets in the sports world,” Foley said in a 2021 press release when the Knight Hawks were officially announced. “Our Indoor Football League franchise will reflect the qualities and culture created by the Golden Knights and the Silver Knights, while giving the place we’re proud to call home an all-new #VegasBorn team to support with passion and enthusiasm.”

Meanwhile, the Desert Dogs are owned by a trio of former star professional athletes in Wayne Gretzky (NHL), Steve Nash (NBA) and Dustin Johnson (PGA) along with Joe Tsai. They played their first two seasons at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Mandalay Bay before making a similar move as the Silver Knights, ultimately giving their fans what they wanted.

“Our business staff listened to our season ticket members,” said Cody Moll, VP of Lacrosse Operations & Assistant GM for the Desert Dogs. “Almost 90 percent said the top three pain points were dealing with Strip parking, dealing with traffic to even get into a parking garage and walking my kid through a casino before I even enter the front doors of the arena. Moving over to Lee's, I can't speak enough about the organization that they run over there, and the building that they have, the lights, the sounds, the feel. It's a true sports venue.”

Forum Provides Home for Christian Artists in Sin City

One particular genre of music that has really thrived recently at Lee’s Family Forum is Christian. Adler said Christian artists have been the perfect fit there, with many of them actually preferring to play off the Strip in front of families who follow their music closely.

“It's a great space for us to be in because the Christian promoters would have otherwise passed over the market in previous years,” Adler said. “They would have driven from Phoenix to L.A., just gone straight through Vegas because there was no real viable option for their fan base. (LFF) wasn't necessarily a venue they were looking for, but it was a fan-friendly venue. So Lee’s Family Forum – having the word family in the name of our venue – they love it.”

On Feb. 14, Grammy-winning artist TobyMac played a sold-out LFF for the second year in a row while fellow Christian artists Third Day (April 16) and Phil Wickham (October 16) hope to do the same during their upcoming dates at the 5,567-seat arena. In November of 2025, another Christian Grammy-winning artist Brandon Lake had the most successful show ever at LFF, opening doors for others like Wickham who is set to play the venue for the first time.

“Brandon Lake beat the record that was set by TobyMac in ’24, and Brandon Lake is still our most successful sellout in the venue's history,” Adler said. “I pull zip reports when I do my shows, and the zip report is the zip codes of the of the credit cards that are purchasing tickets. As an example, that Brandon Lake show is about 85 percent local zip codes to the metropolitan Vegas area. So about 700-800 people came from outside of those zip codes.”

Upcoming Events at Lee's Family Forum

Lee's keeps a full schedule of activities throughout the year. Here's a look at what people can see there over the next few weeks. 

• February 26: Harlem Globetrotters 100-Year Tour
• February 27: Las Vegas Desert Dogs vs. Vancouver Warriors
• February 28-March 1: Henderson Silver Knights vs. Colorado Eagles
• March 4: Henderson Silver Knights vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds
• March 7: USA Gymnastics American Cup 2026
• March 8: Henderson Silver Knights vs. Ontario Reign
• March 11-14: Big West Conference Basketball Championships
• March 15: Las Vegas Desert Dogs vs. Rochester Knighthawks