Since the 1940s Nevada has been synonymous with casinos and is often hailed as the entertainment capital of the world. For the longest time, this entertainment was marketed for adults, including combat sports such as boxing and the UFC. However, since the Vegas Golden Knights made their appearance in 2017 the landscape of Nevada sports has broadened significantly. In the last two years the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces won a championship, and most recently the Vegas Golden Knights took home the Stanley Cup. Southern Nevada is now home to three separate professional sports teams, all of which have a different sporting venue. If the Oakland A’s make their anticipated move to Las Vegas that total will be four. Years of planning goes into each of these venues to ensure they are successful landing spots for more than just their teams’ fans. Each venue represents a unique piece of what is making Nevada one of the fastest growing sports communities in the U.S.
Allegiant Stadium Aka “The Death Star”
With a total capacity of 65,000, the largest sporting venue in Nevada is Allegiant Stadium, which is home to the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team and the UNLV Rebel Football team. Since it was constructed adjacent to the Las Vegas Strip, one of the pieces in the planning process was accessibility. The stadium can be accessed by vehicle and has approximately 25,000 parking spaces in and near the stadium. One of the easier ways to access the stadium is the Hacienda Bridge, which connects Allegiant Stadium to Las Vegas Boulevard.
Nevada’s Legislature approved $750 million in public funding in 2016 to assist in the expected $2 billion budget. The remainder was picked up by the Raiders. Like many stadiums, it has a retractable roof which allows it to be completely climate controlled. One unique feature inside Allegiant Stadium is its retractable field which allows the stadium to be easily converted for other events. Since its completion, the stadium has hosted a variety of events including the NFL’s Pro Bowl, the Pac-12 Championship Game, WWE’s SummerSlam and, most recently, a two-night stop on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Closing out the year will be regular season games for the Raiders and Rebels, but also an appearance by Beyonce and Ed Sheeran.
One of the more anticipated events coming to Allegiant Stadium is Super Bowl LVIII on February 11th, 2024. Given the nature of the various events that have been held at Allegiant Stadium, and the anticipated events, it is certain that Allegiant Stadium will continue to provide world class entertainment to Las Vegas locals and tourists alike.
T-Mobile Arena & MGM Grand Gardens
Home to the UFC and the Vegas Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena is one of the most recognized sports arenas on the Las Vegas Strip. The location makes it accessible to nearly every hotel casino on the Strip, although the Park MGM has the easiest access since it is right across the street from the arena. Unlike Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena was funded entirely through a private partnership between MGM and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Each partner put in $75 million to make the project a reality. When Bill Foley secured an NHL expansion, he purchased a 15 percent share of T-Mobile Arena to ensure it would be the Golden Knights’ home arena.
The guest capacity for T-Mobile Arena differs based on the event, but it can hold up to 20,000 fans for boxing and UFC, and 17,500 for Golden Knights’ games. Additionally, concerts are held at the arena and can seat approximately 18 to 20,000 people.
Toshiba Plaza is a two-acre property located right outside of the arena and holds pre-event functions as well as special events. Recently, Toshiba Plaza was tightly packed for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Golden Knights fans who did not, or could not, purchase tickets to the game were able to watch their team secure the Stanley Cup from the video screens on the outside of T-Mobile Arena. The UFC initially signed a seven-year agreement in 2017 and will continue to hold four events per year at T-Mobile Arena.
Preseason begins in September for NHL fans. The Golden Knights will hoist their Stanley Cup Championship banner on October 10th as they face the Seattle Kraken in the season opener. Several concerts have been planned for the remainder of 2023 at T-Mobile, including Zach Bryan and Drake. And, a unique opportunity for NBA fans will occur on October 9th, as the Lakers face the Nets in a preseason game held at T-Mobile Arena.
MGM’s other sporting venue can be found inside the MGM Grand Hotel on the ground floor. From 1993 until the opening of T-Mobile Arena in 2016, the MGM Grand Gardens was a mainstay location for sporting events in Las Vegas. It has hosted superstar boxing matches involving Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Paquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Until their agreement with T-Mobile Arena, the Grand Gardens was the consistent host of 42 UFC events as well. With a seating capacity of 17,000 Grand Gardens remains a premier location for awards shows and concerts. In 2022, the venue hosted the Grammys, marking the first time the event was held in Las Vegas. Several notable concerts have been planned for the remainder of 2023 including the Jonas Brothers, Shinedown and Madonna.
Future Home of The A’s
While Major League Baseball (MLB) has not officially approved the relocation of the Oakland A’s, the reality of Las Vegas being the home of an MLB franchise is becoming clearer by the day. In June, Governor Lombardo signed NV SB1, which is a stadium financing bill with a goal of making the Oakland A’s stadium happen.
As the signing approached, the Governor released a statement saying, “This is an incredible opportunity to bring the A’s to Nevada, and this legislation reflects months of negotiations between the team, the state, the county and the league. Las Vegas’ position as a global sports destination is only growing, and Major League Baseball is another tremendous asset for the city.” The signing of the bill has triggered the beginning of the months-long approval process for the MLB to officially allow the A’s to relocate.
With a planned location where the Tropicana Hotel currently sits, the ballpark has created concerns amongst locals about the stadium’s negative effect on traffic in an already congested area.
“Does it cause traffic, you bet it does, but it also provides a remarkable economic tourism asset,” said Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst with Applied Analysis. Aguero previously worked with the Raiders on the planning for Allegiant Stadium.
Its planned location on the Strip means that, like T-Mobile Arena, it will be easily accessible on foot. “The A’s and Clark County Public Works have both indicated that accessibility to the ballpark is a critical issue that must be solved before the project moves forward,” Aguero said.
The economic benefit Aguero is speaking of can be found in the lengthy MLB season, which will host a total of 81 home games at the new stadium. The ballpark itself is expected to be completed in the spring of 2028 and will have a planned capacity of 30,000. Even though this capacity makes the proposed ballpark one of the smallest in the country, it will be the second largest in Nevada since the closing of Sam Boyd Stadium. In the 281 days not hosting A’s home games, the ballpark will be used for concerts, public/private events and other sporting events.
The proposed project will cost $1.5 billion. NV SB1 allocates $380 million of public funds, $180 million will be in transferable tax credits and $120 million will be in the form of county bonds. The other $1.2 billion would be privately financed through the A’s organization and its ownership.
The Reno Side of Sports
Las Vegas is not the only area that has a sports community in Nevada. Reno also has two high-quality sporting venues: Greater Nevada Field and the Reno Events Center.
Greater Nevada field is home to the Reno Aces, an affiliate team of the Arizona Diamondbacks. This ballpark has a total capacity of over 9,100 which includes 6,500 fixed seats inside the stadium. While the majority of events at Greater Nevada field involve the Aces, they also host the annual “Slaughter House” haunted house and it becomes an ice rink in the winter. A notable highlight of Greater Nevada Field was their turn at hosting the Triple-A All-Star Game in 2017.
Located in the center of downtown Reno is the 7,500 capacity Reno Events Center, designed to be a multi-purpose arena. Until 2018 the Events Center was home to the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G-League. It hosts the Reno Tournament of Champions which offers high school wrestlers an opportunity to compete for the “All American” status. The Events Center will host comedians Bill Burr and Gabriel Iglesias and there is also a Christian worship concert scheduled with Chris Tomlin. Rounding out the year will be an appearance by Disney On Ice as they present Frozen and Encanto in November.
What’s Next
The importance of the growth of sports in Nevada cannot be overstated. Las Vegas and Seattle have successfully launched NHL franchise expansions, and it appears that the National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner is eyeing these same two cities as potential landing spots for a future NBA expansion team. Several key figures have stated their interest in seeing an NBA team in Las Vegas, including Shaquille O’Neal who is one of the partners that built Big Chicken. Lebron James has also stated that he is interested in seeing an NBA team brought to Las Vegas.
Oak View Group (OVG) CEO Tim Leiweke recently laid out his vision of a $10 billion resort casino that would include a 20,000-seat NBA arena. Leiweke attended a Q&A session during the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance where he promised not to ask the state for funding and indicated his desire to fund the project privately.
If his dream comes to fruition, he will join T-Mobile Arena in being an arena built entirely from private funding. One thing that adds to the excitement of this proposal is the fact that OVG has already purchased land near the I-15 and I-215 interchange.
In a world where everyone gets what they want, within a decade Nevada will be home to NHL, NBA and MLB franchises. Such a vision would have been laughable at the dawn of this century.
