The gala grand opening was held on December 16, 1983, featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Diana Ross.

[6] The facility hosts numerous events, such as concerts, music festivals, conventions and boxing cards.

[6] The facility is named after two prominent Nevada bankers, E. Parry Thomas and Jerome D. Mack, who donated the original funds for the feasibility and land studies.

Cox Pavilion is used for smaller events; its main tenants are the UNLV women's basketball and volleyball programs.

It was also hosted the Las Vegas Flash of the RHI in the 1993–94 season pre-season games annually in October through 2013.

In ArenaBowl XIX in 2005, the Colorado Crush, owned by John Elway defeated the Georgia Force on a field goal on the final play of the game.

However, the arena had previously hosted home games for two NBA teams, the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers.

The Utah Jazz used the arena in the mid-1980s, and it was where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's record for points in a career in 1984.

The Mountain West Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments have both been played annually at the arena since 2007.

In late 2007, CBS filmed part of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode, "Bull", at the Thomas & Mack Center, which was hosting the PBR World Finals.

On March 30, 1984, the USA Volleyball Olympic team competed in the international competition at Thomas & Mack Center.

The gala grand opening was held on December 16, 1983, featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Diana Ross.

During the Halloween Night performance, the band covered The Velvet Underground's "Loaded" album in its entirety during the second set.

This marked the show's first trip to Las Vegas since the 2019 All-Star Challenge at Sam Boyd Stadium.