Marina Bay Sands to begin lobby overhaul in January as arena interest grows

Work to renew the lobby at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore will start in early January 2027 and is expected to take about 18 months, the resort's chief operating officer Paul Town told the Business Times. The lobby programme forms part of a separate US$1.75-billion refurbishment budget for Marina Bay Sands and is scheduled for completion by mid-2028, the executive said.

Renovation plan and timeline

Paul Town said the lobby project will be carried out progressively, "tower by tower", to minimise disruption to guests. He described the work as complicated because "the lobby is so huge, but we will do it progressively – tower by tower – and the impact to our guests will be minimal. I think the end result is going to be pretty spectacular." The lobby upgrade is included in investor materials released on 21 October at the time of parent Las Vegas Sands Corp’s third-quarter earnings announcement, where it was listed under “MBS Renovation Phase II”.

MBS Renovation Phase II also covers redesigned rooms and suites for Hotel Tower 3; a VIP arrival area renovation; work on SkyPark and restaurant facilities; and upgrades to the spa and other amenities. The earlier MBS Renovation Phase I covered Hotel Towers 1 and 2, adding redesigned rooms and suites, a VIP arrival area, two gaming areas named “Premium Gaming” and “Tower Gaming”, a Paiza Sky Residence, and premium retail and food and beverage offerings.

Arena demand and operational staffing

The resort is already receiving enquiries from concert promoters and MICE event organisers about its under-construction arena, Paul Town said. The venue is being built with a 15,000-seat capacity, and he told the Business Times: "We are still four or five years away from launching the arena into the market, but already we are starting to receive demand from [concert] promoters and MICE [meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions] events." He added that the arena's 7,000-seat top tier could be closed off to create an 8,000-seat configuration for other shows.

Mr Town said the arena could be configured for sports including tennis, basketball and UFC. He also warned that staffing the venue would require "early investment"—noting recruitment and training of "more than 100 specialists" to run shows.

Expansion scope and project milestones

The arena forms part of the larger Marina Bay Sands expansion that will add a fourth hotel tower and is valued at US$8 billion. Groundbreaking took place in July 2025 and the opening of the expansion is targeted for early 2031. The third-quarter presentation from Las Vegas Sands lists other expansion elements: an all-suite hotel with up to 570 accommodation units; 110,000 square feet (10,219 sq. metres) of MICE space; and The Skyloop, which will include rooftop pools, restaurant and nightlife facilities, and public attractions.

Ed Sanderson was named vice president, arena, at Marina Bay Sands in September. Mr Sanderson previously worked at The Venetian Macao from June 2007 to July 2013. Las Vegas Sands is the parent company of Sands China.

For coverage of live-entertainment developments and venue strategy see the events and news sections of our site.