Paul Szydelko
Traditionally known for its glamorous boxing and Ultimate Fighting Championship nights in which competitors face off one on one, Las Vegas is now getting on the map for its team competitions.
A new ad campaign from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority celebrates the city as the ultimate destination to watch and experience all types of sports.
"The Greatest Arena on Earth," a 30-second commercial that airs nationally, is narrated by hip-hop poet, writer and voice-over artist J. Ivy. He intones, "Roman Colosseum meets gridiron meets field of dreams meets cold ice meets ultimate fights meets neon lights," outlining the variety of sports now hosted by the city.
"Whether sports fans are attending an event in person or coming to the destination to be part of the surrounding energy and activations, Las Vegas offers an experience that won't be found anywhere else," said Kate Wik, the LVCVA's chief marketing officer.
Three new venues built in the last five years symbolize the city's entry into a new era of athletic competition. T-Mobile Arena, which opened in 2016 and seats 17,500 for the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights, can accommodate a pro basketball team should the NBA want to place a team on the Strip.
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The 65,000-seat Allegiant Stadium (2020), home of the Las Vegas
Raiders and University of Nevada, Las Vegas football, hosts numerous
other special events, concerts and conferences, and it is expected get
the nod for the Super Bowl within a few years.
Las Vegas Ballpark (2019), a short drive west of the Strip, seats 10,000 for the minor-league Las Vegas Aviators baseball team. Sensing the momentum for major-league sports in Vegas, the Oakland A's are investigating sites around the valley for a possible move while they negotiate a long sought-after deal to build a new ballpark in California.
"There's no doubt that there's a lot of markets that want to compete with us. But I don't know that anyone is competitive with us," Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst for Applied Analysis and lead staff for the Stadium Authority board, told KTNV-Channel 13. "[The stadium] elevates us overall. When you talk about people coming to Las Vegas, they're coming here for a purpose. They're coming here for a football game. They're coming here for a concert."
While the Raiders and Golden Knights get most of the attention in the fall and winter, the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces play at Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay.
The Las Vegas Lights FC of the USL Championship soccer league play at Cashman Field, and the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League play at the Orleans Arena for one more season before their new 6,000-seat arena (Dollar Loan Center) opens in suburban Henderson.
The Vegas Knight Hawks, the Indoor Football League's newest franchise, will also play in the Henderson arena beginning next year.
Upcoming sporting events coming to the city include the inaugural Las Vegas Rugby Cup (Oct. 30), the 2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game (Dec. 3) and the National Finals Rodeo (Dec. 2 to 11). The Professional Bull Riders World Finals is set for T-Mobile Arena Nov. 3 to 7 but will move to Texas next year.
Las Vegas will be in the national spotlight for the early part of 2022, playing host to the NHL Honda All-Star Weekend (Feb. 4 and 5), the NFL Pro Bowl (Feb. 6), the East-West Shrine Bowl, a college football all-star game (Feb. 3) and the NFL Draft (April 28 to 30).