American Dream is opening two new venues within a week of each other — one that already hosted a World Cup crowd before it even officially opened, and another that debuts with a night of caged combat.
The 60,000-square-foot Event Center hosted a private hospitality event for several thousand ticket holders ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final.
The second venue, the Dream Live Performing Arts Center, will open Saturday night, when Victory Fighting League brings VFL 4 – Havoc on the Hudson – to its stage at 7 p.m.
Both mark American Dream’s latest expansion as the World Cup and the mall’s 39-day Dream Fan Fest wrap up.
“American Dream continues to redefine the entertainment and retail experience,” Triple Five Group Principal Roy Ghermezian. “These two state-of-the-art venues further enhance our property, allowing us to host even more world-class performances, live events, hospitality experiences, conventions and trade shows for visitors from around the world.”
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The Event Center holds up to 3,500 guests and can fit more than 300 exhibitor booths or 190 banquet tables, depending on the layout.
It comes with four breakout rooms, dedicated registration areas, catering from the mall’s restaurants, and a window wall looking out on the Manhattan skyline. The space is built to flex between trade shows, corporate gatherings, private events and banquet-style hospitality, with integrated projection built in.
American Dream is positioning the venue against traditional convention centers by leaning on what’s already surrounding it — more than 30 attractions, 105 restaurants and a full retail lineup guests can access beyond the event floor itself.
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Dream Live is built for a different crowd: concerts, comedy, theater, sports and corporate events, with music programming spanning rock, hip-hop, pop and EDM. The venue runs on
an L-Acoustics sound system with what American Dream calls best-in-class lighting and video production, plus VIP seating and luxury suites. Ticketmaster will handle ticketing.
The MMA card opening the venue kicks off a packed early calendar:
- July 26: Comedy Night with Yechiel Jacobs
- July 30: Free screening of the original “Jaws”
- July 31: Free screening of “Jaws 2” and “Jaws 3”
- Aug. 1-2: Club 90s Presents BTS Night
- Aug. 8: As It Is
- Aug. 9-14: “DogMan The Musical”
- Aug. 15: French Montana live in concert
- Aug. 16: Good Guys Podcast Live
- Aug. 20: Arrival from Sweden
- Aug. 23: High School Musical Sing Along
