Las Vegas: The Greatest Arena on Earth
Long known for sports special events, in recent years Las Vegas has experienced a massive evolution into a year-round, major sports destination. The shift has been fast and profound, thanks to a winning combination of new professional sports teams and venues, plus new and returning marquee special events.
Consider the impact of Allegiant Stadium, the $2 billion, state-of-the-art domed facility that serves as home to the NFL Raiders, UNLV football and special events. In the second half of 2021, Allegiant Stadium safely hosted more than one million fans at key sponsored events, NFL and college football games, concerts and more, despite the ongoing pandemic. During those six months, Las Vegas welcomed about 400,000 visitors who likely came to the city specifically for events held at Allegiant Stadium.
Creating a Sports Destination
During the NFL season, fans will head to stadiums and find a place to tailgate, go to the game and root for their team, and then head home after the game.
In cities that have created a sports destination, fans can travel to see their team and enjoy a full weekend of activities. Fans book hotel rooms and enjoy great restaurants, shows and perhaps other sporting events before Sunday’s kickoff. To engage fans, the city must offer other world-class events, attractions and entertainment options, along with a range of hotel accommodations and food and beverage experiences within a convenient distance of the stadium.
“So many of our sports and entertainment events occur on the Strip or in close proximity, making it easy and convenient for fans to take advantage of all Las Vegas has to offer,” said H. Fletch Brunelle, Vice President of Marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. “We have an incredible variety of high-profile sports events happening and the excitement and energy fans will find in Las Vegas is incomparable.”
Beyond special events, Las Vegas is also home to year-round professional sports: the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, MiLB’s Las Vegas Aviators, AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights and USL’s Las Vegas Lights FC. Fans will also find NASCAR, college basketball and football, UFC, golf, tennis, bowling, rodeo events and more.
Action-packed March Schedule
“March Madness” is traditionally an exciting time for college basketball fans across the globe, but in Las Vegas the madness extends far beyond hoops, to such an extent that March 2-13 has been dubbed Vegas Ultimate Sports Week.
College basketball takes the stage with the Pac-12 Conference men’s championship at T-Mobile Arena (March 9-12) and the women’s championship at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena (March 2-6). The Mountain West Conference basketball championship takes place at Thomas & Mack Center (March 6-12), while Orleans Arena is the site for the West Coast Conference (March 3-8) and Western Athletic Conference basketball championships (March 9-12). And new for 2022, the Big West Conference will crown its champions in the all-new, state-of-the-art Dollar Loan Center (March 8-12).
Racing fans will enjoy the Pennzoil 400 Weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 4-6) and the Mint 400 (March 5-13) at locations throughout the area. UFC 272 will be contested at T-Mobile Arena on March 5, while the U.S. Bowling Congress Open Championship will take place at South Point Bowling Plaza starting March 12. MLB comes to town for two Big League Weekends, with the Cleveland Guardians taking on the Oakland Athletics (March 12-13) in two games and the Colorado Rockies facing off against the Arizona Diamondbacks (March 18-19).
Other sporting events rounding out the madness of March include seven Golden Knights games, along with two Silver Knights games, a UNLV basketball game, championship bull riding and the Harlem Globetrotters.
To keep fans engaged in their hours away from sports, there are headline concerts, residency shows, and magic and comedy acts at the Strip’s resorts.
Among the performers fans can see in March are Cheap Trick, David Copperfield, John Mayer, Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood, along with Criss Angel, Blue Man Group, John Fogerty, Foreigner, Ludacris, Barry Manilow, Donny Osmond, Penn & Teller and Keith Urban.
The stars will align at Allegiant Stadium when the biggest names in country music come to town for the Academy of Country Music Awards on March 7.
“Visitors can come to Las Vegas to see their hockey team face off against the Golden Knights, their basketball team take part in a conference tournament and take in a Katy Perry concert and a variety of attractions, not to mention world-class dining experiences, all in the same three-day visit,” said Brunelle. “Las Vegas has become ‘The Greatest Arena on Earth’ because of the sheer volume of world-class sports and entertainment events fans can experience when they’re here.”
Beyond sports and shows, Las Vegas offers an abundance of indoor and outdoor activities, including aviation, boating and other water sports, bowling, canoeing and kayaking, cycling, golf, off-roading, rock climbing and tennis. There are also adventure tours, ATV/UTV tours, desert adventures, cowboy trail rides, Grand Canyon tours and Hoover Dam excursions.
To accommodate visitors coming for sports and entertainment events, Las Vegas has more than 150,000 hotel rooms with options for nearly every budget.
Cooperation Is Key
With so many teams in one city, along with other marquee sporting events and entertainment options, it takes a great deal of cooperation between sports properties, entertainment properties, hotels and restaurants to create a successful sports destination.
“It’s all about creating an overall, memorable experience,” said Chris Powell, President of Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “Fans who come to town for the Pennzoil 400 or the multitude of basketball tournaments are, understandably, focused on the events. But Las Vegas delivers in so many other areas as well, such as the nightlife, dining, gaming, retail and other forms of entertainment. And we’re open 24 hours a day.”
