COMING HOME AGAIN

By Brian Hurlburt

Ever since the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson opened in 2022, a drawing card has been the official home exhibit of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

Who knows how many thousands of fans—local and visiting—have gazed upon the state-of-the-art display that honors each of the Hall’s inductees in sparkling fashion.

“Without reservation, this is one of the most exciting developments in the history of the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame,” said 2022 SNSHF Chairman Dale Eeles upon christening of the new location. “We are extremely grateful and appreciative to Vegas Golden Knights Chairman and CEO Bill Foley, Kerry Bubolz and the entire organization for making this long-awaited vision a reality.”

Not only did the new exhibit—complete with video, motion display and memorabilia—make its debut in 2022, the induction ceremony was held at the DLC for the first time. Hundreds of supporters, inductees, sponsors, scholarship recipients and family members gathered to celebrate the class of 2022 and the new home.

“It was an amazing evening,” said Jim Lambright, executive director. “We had great success at The Orleans arena for over 12 years and they treated us first class. Now we feel that our attendees and community have embraced the new venue because of the permanent display in the concourse in addition to the Dollar Loan Center being a first-class facility with an amazing staff. It truly feels like our home. It is the perfect place to continue our mission of honoring our inductees in a first-class facility while also raising funds to help young athletes through- out Southern Nevada.”

Upon reflection, 2023 SNSHF Chairman John Saccenti revealed how important the new location is to the Hall’s mission.

“It is a perfect location for our home exhibit and our annual induction ceremony,” Saccenti said. “It is a hometown arena located in one of our great communities and allows so many sports fans to view the exhibit during each event. It gives our Hall of Fame and inductees terrific visibility.”

The 6,000-seat Dollar Loan Center is located in the heart of Henderson and is the home of the Henderson Silver Knights hockey club and Las Vegas Knight Hawks indoor football team. The venue also hosts college basketball, concerts, community events and more.