Sports in Las Vegas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Las Vegas is one of the largest cities in the United States without a major league sports team. If the city does not get a team before the 2010 U.S. census it will probably be confirmed as the largest metropolitan area without one. There are still many sports activities in the area. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas fields Division I athletic teams and the NCAA football Las Vegas Bowl is in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS), just north of the city hosts NASCAR and other automotive events. The National Finals Rodeo is held annually at the Thomas & Mack Center. Visitors and residents also have many options for boating, golf, hiking, rock climbing. The city has many parks which offer a wide range of activities.
Las Vegas is home to several minor league sports teams: the Las Vegas 51s of the AAA Pacific Coast League, the Las Vegas Stars of the International Basketball League and the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL (hockey). Due in part to perceived risks with legal sports betting, no major professional sports league has ever had a team in Las Vegas, with the exception of the Utah Jazz's half-season at the Thomas & Mack Center in 1983-84. The placement of a major-league team in Las Vegas is an ongoing topic of discussion between city leaders and the professional sports leagues. When asked about the possibility of professional sports in the city, Mayor Oscar Goodman said "We are closer than we have ever been."
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels (the name Runnin' Rebels is used only by the men's basketball team) host Mountain West Conference events on the UNLV campus and eight miles (13 km) east, at Sam Boyd Stadium. Indoor sporting events are held at the Thomas & Mack Center complex, both at the main arena and at Cox Pavilion, a smaller arena attached to the complex.
Professional outdoor football has been attempted twice in Las Vegas. The XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws and the Canadian Football League's Las Vegas Posse. Both teams folded after only one season of play. The XFL folded outright, while the Posse were a failure at the box office and part of the CFL's failed U.S expansion attempt. Posse QB Anthony Calvillo went first overall in the 1995 dispersion draft of Posse players, and went on to have a stellar career in Canada
The NBA awarded the 2007 NBA All-Star Game to Las Vegas. This was the first all-star game to be played in a non-NBA city. As part of the conditions the NBA set for holding the game in Las Vegas, sports books agreed not to take bets on the game.
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[edit] Issues with major league sports
The most prominent issue is the perceived problem of legal sports betting. All four major professional sports leagues have strong anti-gambling policies, prohibiting their personnel from having any involvement in gambling. The NFL has taken the toughest (and arguably most unreasonable) stance, even refusing to accept Las Vegas tourism advertising for Super Bowl telecasts and threatening to file suit against any local hotels holding Super Bowl parties. In recent years hotels have gotten around the legal threat by referring to the Super Bowl as "The Big Game" rather than its actual name in advertising.
Some potential owners believe a professional sports franchise would have difficulty gaining an audience, given Las Vegas' numerous entertainment options. Las Vegas also has a high percentage of residents working in 24-hour occupations, many of whom work nights and weekends when most games would be played. These issues are not seen as problems by everyone in professional sports, however. Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria described Las Vegas as "a potential gold mine" for a professional sports team owner. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has also been quoted as saying that Las Vegas would be a good professional sports town.
A huge obstacle is the lack of suitable facilities. Cashman Field, Sam Boyd Stadium, the Thomas & Mack Center, MGM Grand Garden Arena, and Mandalay Bay Events Center are all inadequate to host a professional sports franchise due to capacity, age or design. Harrah's Entertainment and the Anschutz Entertainment Group committed to building a new arena on a parcel of land behind Harrah's Paris and Bally's off the Strip, to be built to NHL and NBA standards. The arena was expected to open in the fall of 2010, but construction has not begun. There have been no announced plans to replace Sam Boyd Stadium or Cashman Field.[1][2][3]
For years Las Vegas has depended upon UNLV and Strip hotels to provide venues for sporting events. This approach has come back to bite the city in a big way. The first indication of trouble occurred in 1999, when UNLV officials refused to discuss a new agreement with the owners of the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League to play at the Thomas & Mack Center. Hotels with facilities suitable for the Thunder would not commit to an entire hockey season, as this would have seriously restricted the dates available for concerts and other events. This left the Thunder without a place to play. The team was disbanded, and the city lost hockey for four years. Only the opening of a new arena (considerably smaller than the Thomas & Mack) at the off-Strip Orleans Hotel allowed for the return of hockey even then. The lack of a baseball park that could be quickly reconfigured for major league baseball cost the city any chance of landing the relocating Montreal Expos in 2004. Since Cashman Field (the only sports facility the city owns) opened in 1988, all but four other cities in AAA baseball (Pawtucket, Tacoma, Portland and Omaha) have opened new ballparks[1] - and Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium will be replaced by a new stadium scheduled to open in 2011 [2]. Little has been done to Cashman since it opened. Because Cashman lags so far behind so many other facilities in AAA baseball there is also a danger that Las Vegas will lose its place in minor league baseball's top tier. Dissatisfaction with the facilities, along with the total lack of a plan to improve the situation, was cited as a major reason the Los Angeles Dodgers did not renew their working agreement with the Las Vegas 51s after it expired in 2008.
With the severe economic downturn in Las Vegas there is now speculation that no sports facility suitable for hosting a major league franchise will be built until at least 2015. This effectively kills any shot Las Vegas has at landing a professional sports team until then. When the economy was booming no sports facilities were built. Las Vegas would probably already have professional sports if this had been done.
[edit] Future major league prospects
[edit] MLB
In April 2004, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig publicly revealed that MLB was considering Las Vegas as a potential home for the Montreal Expos. MLB eventually chose Washington, D.C., primarily because the city agreed to provide a new stadium built entirely with public funding.[4] There have also been contacts between city officials and several Major League Baseball owners regarding relocation. The ownership of the Florida Marlins held a widely-publicized meeting with Mayor Oscar Goodman in the winter of 2004. The Minnesota Twins were also rumored to be interested in Las Vegas, as were the Oakland Athletics.
Since then, the Marlins, Twins, and A's have submitted plans for new stadiums in their current markets, with two of the projects actually going through. The Twins will move into Target Field, located near downtown Minneapolis, in 2010. The Marlins have approval to build a new ballpark on the site of the demolished Orange Bowl in Miami; the retractable-roof facility is projected to open in 2012. However, the A's (who played six home games in Las Vegas in 1996 because the Oakland Coliseum wasn't ready for the beginning of the season) have reemerged as a possible relocation candidate. The team submitted a formal proposal for a new stadium in nearby Fremont, but its plans fell through in February 2009 in the face of opposition from local residents and politicians.
The Tampa Bay Rays have not publicly made inquiries about moving to Las Vegas, but their stadium and attendance situations make them a possible candidate for relocation. Tropicana Field is regarded as one of the worst facilities in Major League Baseball[3]. The Rays have a tentative design for a new waterfront stadium at a location yet to be determined, but site selection has been put on indefinite hold. Poor attendance despite their 2008 run to the World Series, the team's first-ever playoff appearance, casts doubt upon their future in the Tampa Bay area.
Major League Baseball held their 2008 Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. While Mayor Oscar Goodman made an appearance, there was no significant announcement regarding the city's place in MLB's future plans.
[edit] NBA
Rumors surfaced in 2005 about the possible relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Las Vegas. In November 2006 California voters rejected a proposal to fund a new arena in Sacramento. A new arena is considered to be a condition of the team remaining in Sacramento. Another possible factor is that the owners of the Kings, the Maloof family, also own the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The Maloofs told ESPN on February 10, 2009 that they have no intention of selling the Kings or moving the team to another city.
The Milwaukee Bucks have also been mentioned as possible candidates for relocation to Las Vegas.[5][6] There is widespread speculation that the completion of a new Las Vegas arena will bring teams from the NBA and NHL.
Las Vegas hosted the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, the only time the event has been held in a non-NBA city. The NBA Summer League is currently held in the city, and the USA Olympic basketball team trained in Las Vegas in 2008.
[edit] NFL
The NFL has expressed strong opposition to sports betting and they have expressed the least interest among the four major sports leagues in putting a team in Las Vegas. However, with football's national popularity and only eight home regular season games (and few playoff games compared to the other leagues), an NFL team may be a good fit for the city.[7]
In the summer of 2008 there was mention in the Las Vegas media that the San Diego Chargers may be considering Las Vegas as a relocation destination. Some local sports radio hosts have also raised the possibility that Al Davis, the volatile owner of the Oakland Raiders, might be the one to bring the NFL to Las Vegas because he has a history of doing things the league doesn't like. He has already moved the Raiders twice, first to Los Angeles in 1982 and then back to Oakland in 1995. Adding fuel to this speculation is Davis' well known dissatisfaction with the Raiders' stadium situation. The Oakland Coliseum is old and outdated and there are no current plans to replace it.
[edit] NHL
Film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer is an avid hockey fan. He reportedly has had informal talks with the NHL about owning a team in Las Vegas (possibly by means of expansion).[8][9] Mayor Oscar Goodman mentioned in 2004 that he was contacted by the owner of an NHL team about moving to the city, but he did not identify the team.
An article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on January 16, 2009 quoted a league source as saying that Las Vegas is under consideration for a game in the NHL's series of outdoor games. The same source said that the league has had inquiries about placing a team in Las Vegas, but that nothing will move forward until an arena is built.
The 2009 NHL Awards were held in Las Vegas at the Palms Hotel, the first of three ceremonies that will be held in the city
Las Vegas is a candidate for the relocation of the Phoenix Coyotes.
[edit] MLS
The local media reported in the summer of 2008 that Las Vegas is on the short list of Major League Soccer for an expansion franchise in the near future.
[edit] UFL
Las Vegas will reportedly have a team in the new United Football League. The league will begin with an abbreviated schedule in 2009, with Las Vegas and Los Angeles sharing the team for the first season. The head coach will be Jim Fassel, former head coach of the NFL's New York Giants. In June 2009 it was announced that the team has signed J. P. Losman, formerly a quarterback with the NFL's Buffalo Bills.[10]
[edit] Special sports events
Las Vegas hosts the Las Vegas Bowl, a college bowl game, around Christmas day. The game generally pairs a Pac-10 Conference team and a Mountain West Conference team.
In 2005-06, the city hosted ArenaBowl XIX and ArenaBowl XX at the Thomas & Mack Center, the AFL's first neutral-site title games. After two years of disappointing attendance the game was moved.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has drawn up to 165,000 fans. Las Vegas also hosts a significant number of professional fights. Many of these fights (such as those in MMA's UFC) take place near downtown or on the Strip in one of the major resort/hotel/casino event centers. Mandalay Bay is frequently a top contender as a venue for the UFC. The National Finals Rodeo has drawn thousands of fans to the city since 1985, and a contract extension was signed in 2005 keeping the event in Las Vegas through 2014.
Af2, a second-tier arena football league, announced on June 24 that the ArenaCup, the league championship game, will be played in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena on August 22, 2009.[11] Af2 President Jerry Kurs has stated that the league has serious plans to put a team in Las Vegas to play at the Orleans Arena.[12] He said that he has "no qualms" about this even given the problems that the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League had in the city.
The city has become a regional hub of sorts for college basketball conference tournaments. The Mountain West Conference holds its annual tournament in the city. Las Vegas hosted the tournament for the first seven years of the conference's existence, then the tournament returned to Las Vegas in 2009 after three years in Denver. The tournament is played at the Thomas & Mack Center. In 2009 the West Coast Conference, which does not have a team in Nevada, moved its tournament to the Orleans Arena. The Western Athletic Conference is also moving its tournament to Las Vegas, beginning in 2011.[13] The WAC will also play at the Orleans Arena.
[edit] Teams
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas 51s | Pacific Coast League | Cashman Field | 1983 | 2 |
| Las Vegas Wranglers | ECHL | Orleans Arena | 2003 | 0 |
| Las Vegas Stars | International Basketball League | Stations Sports Complex | 2007 | 0 |
[edit] Boxing
Las Vegas is also host to many professional boxing matches and has hosted many heavyweight boxing championship bouts.
[edit] Notable bouts
- The Battle of the Little Giants (1981)
- Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns (1981, 1989)
- Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney (1982)
- The War (boxing) (1985)
- Chavez vs Taylor aka Thunder Meet Lightning(1990)
- Michael Carbajal vs. Humberto Gonzalez I (1993)
- The Bite Fight (1997)
- Fight of the Millennium (1999)
- Barrera versus Morales trilogy (2000, 2002, 2004)
- De La Hoya vs. Mayweather (2007)
- Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton (2007)
- Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe (2008)
- Ricky Hatton vs. Manny Pacquiao (2009)
[edit] Mixed Martial Arts
Along with significant rises in popularity in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), a number of fight leagues such as the UFC have taken interest in Las Vegas as a primary event location due to the number of suitable host venues. The Mandalay Bay Events Center and MGM Grand Garden Arena are among some of the more popular venues for fighting events such as MMA and have hosted several UFC and other MMA title fights.
[edit] Professional Wrestling
Over the years, Las Vegas has housed many wrestling events for World Wrestling Entertainment such as WrestleMania IX at Caesar's Palace, No Way Out (2001) housed at the Thomas & Mack Center, Vengeance (2005), Monday Night Raw, and No Way Out (2008). Las Vegas also housed World Championship Wrestling's 1999 Halloween Havoc and TNA Wrestling's TNA Impact!.
[edit] Golf
[edit] Events
Las Vegas hosts these pro tour events:
- PGA Las Vegas Invitational
- LPGA LPGA Takefuji Classic
- PBA Senior Tour Las Vegas Open
[edit] Motor sports
Las Vegas has become an internationally known motor racing locale having hosted the elite Formula One racers at Caesars Palace and the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) for Indy racers in the early "80's. Las Vegas was also the home of the famed "Mint 400" Desert Race from 1968-1987 run in the unforgiving Nevada desert outside Las Vegas. Nearly 100,000 spectators lined the 100 mile (160 km) loop to view the 500 plus off road racing vehicles. Sponsored by Del Webb's Mint Hotel and Casino, the event was the largest and richest event in the sport. The technical and safety inspection was held on famed Fremont Street and became one of the major must attend sporting events in Las Vegas history. The race ended when Del Webb organization sold the Mint Hotel to the adjacent Horseshoe owned by the legendary Binion gaming family.
Over the years, Vegas was the host for the Caesars Palace Grand Prix.
The CanAm races 1966-68 were held at the old Stardust Raceway and were officially called the Stardust Grand Prix.
In July 2006, the Las Vegas City Council approved a 2.44-mile, 14-turn, counterclockwise street circuit in the downtown area for a Champ Car event slated for April 6-8, 2007.[14]
[edit] Events
Las Vegas hosts these motor sports at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway:
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: UAW-Dodge 400
- NASCAR Nationwide Series: Sam's Town 300
- NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qwik Liner Las Vegas 350
- NHRA SummitRacing.com Nationals (April)
- NHRA ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals (November)
[edit] Rodeo
[edit] Events
Las Vegas hosts these Professional Rodeo events:
- BigHorn Rodeo
- PBR World Finals (1994-) -- Built Ford Tough World Finals
- National Finals Rodeo (1985-) -- Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
[edit] Las Vegas Marathon
The Las Vegas Marathon is one of the oldest marathons in the United States, having been run since 1967. The marathon was organized by Al Boka since 1983, who sold the marathon in 2005 to Devine Racing, a Chicago-based race organization company that is responsible for several other races, including the Los Angeles Marathon. Devine redubbed the race as "The New Las Vegas Marathon", and updated the course to include the Strip. Introduced on December 4, 2005, the new course marks one of the race occasions that the Strip is closed to traffic. Prior to that, the course had run on the old Los Angeles Highway, beginning in the community of Jean, Nevada, and ending inside Las Vegas proper (Sunset Park). Additionally in 2005, the date of the marathon was changed from January to December to help ensure better weather.
[edit] Darts
[edit] Roller Derby
- Fabulous Sin City Rollergirls (WFTDA) [4]
[edit] Tennis
Las Vegas is home to The Tennis Channel Open hosted at The Amanda & Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center. An international series tournament with a $500,000 prize fund which attracts stars such as Lleyton Hewitt, James Blake and Las Vegas native Andre Agassi.
[edit] Other events
Vegas is the end point for the annual Baker to Vegas Challenge Cup Relay. This 120 mile long foot race is run in April of each year by law enforcement teams from around the world. The race starts in Baker, California and is run over two days. The 2006 race was the 22nd race and had teams from across the United States and from 4 other countries. This is the largest law enforcement athletic event in the world.
In 2006, the city hosted the USAFL National Championships, the biggest event in the United States for the sport of Australian rules football, with over 2,000 players from the US and Canada including local team Las Vegas Gamblers.
Las Vegas is also home to the professional paint ball team Las Vegas LTZ and amateur team Sin City Paintball.
[edit] Sports venues
[edit] Arenas
- Cox Pavilion
- Mandalay Bay Events Center
- MGM Grand Garden Arena
- new arena proposed by Harrah's
- Orleans Arena
- Thomas & Mack Center
[edit] Golf courses
- Primm Valley Golf Club
- Rio Secco Golf Club
- Shadow Creek Golf Club - Private
- TPC at The Canyons
- TPC at Summerlin - Private
- Wynn Golf and Country Club
- Rhodes Ranch
- Tuscany
- Badlands
- Desert Rose Golf Course
- Las Vegas Golf Club
[edit] Motor sports
[edit] Sports fields
[edit] References
- ^ "Vegas, baby? Arena envisioned to draw pro team to city". ESPN. August 22, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=2986775.
- ^ Nakashima, Ryan (August 22, 2007). "Harrah's, AEG to build Las Vegas arena to attract NHL, NBA teams". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2007-08-22-3067209702_x.htm.
- ^ Knightly, Arnold M. (August 22, 2007). "Joint Venture: Arena plan unveiled". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/news/9329031.html.
- ^ Olney, Buster (January 26, 2004). "Las Vegas Expos not such a longshot". ESPN. http://www.lvrj.com/sports/7900792.html.
- ^ Robbins, Liz (February 15, 2007). "Las Vegas yearns for a team". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/15/sports/nba.php.
- ^ "Sonics owner Bennett tells officials he's eyeing Vegas". ESPN. April 28, 2007. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2850918.
- ^ Kilsby, James (October 30, 2007). "All Bets Are Off For NFL's London Debut". Gambling Compliance. http://www.gamblingcompliance.com/node/9985.
- ^ Dewey, Todd (June 08, 2007). "Las Vegas needs arena for NHL to take root". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/sports/7900792.html.
- ^ Gallagher, Tony (June 08, 2007). "NHL flirts with Las Vegas". CanWest News Service. http://www.canada.com/topics/sports/hockey/story.html?id=375a2b04-4da8-4303-8eea-1d11f14789a1&k=56089.
- ^ "The UFL Lands J. P. Losman, various other quarterbacks". Yahoo! Sports. June 18, 2009. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-UFL-lands-J-P-Losman-various-other-quarter?urn=nfl,171135.
- ^ Press Release (June 24, 2009). "Vegas Baby: 2009 ArenaCup heads to Las Vegas". Af2. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/15/sports/nba.php.
- ^ Staff (June 24, 2009). "af2 championship game bound for Orleans Arena". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/sports/49081286.html.
- ^ Press Release (June 25, 2009). "WAC basketball tournament headed to Las Vegas". Reno Gazette Journal. http://www.rgj.com/article/20090625/SPORTS06/906250332.
- ^ "Las Vegas approves Champ Car race". ESPN. July 20, 2006. http://www.lvrj.com/sports/7900792.html.
