Las Vegas Strip Grows As Sports Hub, Sports Franchises To Move Nearby

Las Vegas has an endless list of entertainment, especially for those who love casinos and sports betting. The city has the Las Vegas Strip that stretches all the way from Mandalay Bay to the STRAT Hotel Casino and SkyPod.

When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized the state-by-state sports betting issue, the state of Nevada gained permission to add more sports betting legally.

Las Vegas Strip as major sports hub

Following the decision, the Las Vegas Strip turned into a major sports betting destination with different franchises choosing it as their home, which included the Vegas Golden Knights, Oakland Athletics, and the Las Vegas Raiders.

Apart from being the home of the NFL Draft and the host of the upcoming Super Bowl, a Formula 1 race will also be held in Las Vegas in 2023.

The Las Vegas Strip also features some well-known casino operators such as Caesars Entertainment CZR, MGM Resorts International, Wynn Resorts, and many other operators.

Bill Hornbuckle, CEO of MGM Resorts International, admitted that sports are a customer driver on the Strip with various sports events to come. "We also have big sporting events coming with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Regionals on tap for March of next year, along with the first-of-a-kind Formula 1 Race in the Las Vegas Strip in November 2023. And of course, we will host the Super Bowl in February of 2024," he said.

Sports impact on Las Vegas

Sports have potentially driven traffic and helped the city grow even more. The obvious case can be seen from every Las Vegas Raiders home game that contributed to the casinos’ income.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the value of the Raiders' tickets increased on the secondary market. Data from a ticket technology company, Logitix, showed that the average Raiders ticket on the secondary market is $595.

The city is also a destination for fans of the opposing team. According to the data, there is a high demand in the secondary market with a great willingness to buy from the visiting tourists, even when they need to pay a large amount of money to see the game.

This surely will benefit the city, with many tourists visiting and contributing to the city’s economic growth. "All of these big events show the incredible progress the City has made as an entertainment and sports destination. … And so that's all inherently built into our future now, and so we're very excited by that as well and what's happening in Las Vegas," Hornbuckle said.

Oakland Athletics eyeing Las Vegas as new home

Looking at the success of the Raiders, who grew from a small local fan base to the most-awaited team with a hot ticket, other sports franchises are reportedly interested in making Vegas their home base.

The Oakland Athletics are one of the teams aiming to lock a spot in Vegas. It was reported that the A’s were engaged in a negotiation with Las Vegas and their current home, Oakland.

It was not an all-smooth process because there were some concerns regarding the public funding that caused the deal to be halted. Fortunately, it was back on the table, as the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The A's want to build a stadium or form a private-public partnership in the Strip. Dave Kaval, the A’s president, said that the goal is to secure land with a 30,000-seat ballpark near the resort corridor.