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Growing up in Vegas, its almost special to see the city grow the way it has. From a tourist destination, to an upcoming metropolis-international hotspot, Vegas has seen growth from all cylinders. Whether it be the vast population, attractions, sight-seeing, and even attracting markets we truly never tapped into until now. Of course I wanted to center this around the incredible hockey organization that is the Las Vegas Golden Knights and their historic 2023 Stanley Cup triumph, as well as the Las Vegas Aces bringing WNBA championship gold to the city as well as starting their new season 10-1, it really raises the question, is Vegas destined to be a sports city going forward?

So, What is a sports city? Well think of a big market, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, what do all of these have in common? Most of not all of these are not only metropolis cities, but also have almost all types of categories of pro sports. In that case where does Vegas stand? After a failed attempt at attracting a pro sports team due to the concerns of gambling and racketeering, Vegas became an attraction to combat sports. Historically boxing and til this day still is a big capital for boxing, however, we are home to UFC as well in modern times. Another failed attempt in 2014 with making a brand new franchise in MLS, and finally getting a proper arena in the T-Mobile Arena in 2016.

Funny enough, that announcement came with a surprise, Vegas’ first ever pro sports team in the Las Vegas Golden Knights, led by a brilliant minded Bill Foley as the owner, and Bruce Cassidy as a genius GM. Not only did they both, along with amazing play by the team bring Vegas to become a hockey loving city, it started to gain attention to a whole stadium in its sights. So, in 2016 after gaining the coveted T-Mobile Arena, it was now proposed for a $1.4 Billion domed stadium that could be home to a potentially new or relocating NFL team, and when things were going sideways in Oakland and the disagreements in their new stadium plans. Mark Davis, owner of the Raiders, pledged $500 million of his own money towards this project which would begin construction in 2017 and debut the newly relocated Las Vegas Raiders in the newly built Allegiant Stadium for the 2020 NFL season. Although, not an incredible team, no offense to Raiders fans, we now have 2 pro teams in our wake, but what about the others?

Well, technically if you think about it, we also have a semi-pro soccer team in the Las Vegas Lights FC, a newly debuted XFL team in the Las Vegas Vipers, a pro lacrosse team of all things in the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, as well as a Triple-A baseball team in affiliation with the Oakland A’s (this info will be important later), in the Las Vegas Aviators, even bringing us our first ever semi-pro ballpark. Really, Vegas has a variety of likings towards sports of all kinds, but we have WNBA, NHL, and, the NFL here, what about the other pro sports too like the NBA, MLS, and MLB?

As of the writing of this article it seems like all 3 are being planned to be brought into Vegas relatively soon. The city and Joe Lombardo namely just approved the Oakland A’s proposal of a stadium potentially where the Tropicana stands, which in this case is only a matter of time whether the MLB approves the move or disapproves it, which will make the MLB added to the arsenal of pro teams. In the NBA’s case, a team of investors led by Jackie Robinson, the UNLV basketball legend, proposed an NBA arena to attract the formation of a brand new franchise here in the city by where the lot is in the future Fountaine Bleu lot, which is now being built again sadly disbanding the idea. More sights are being looked at for the NBA Arena, including a newly proposed $10 billion dollar proposal led by Oak View Group which would pan together 66 acres of land, and more importantly, no public funding. (Front Office Sports). Especially with a rumor that Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA as a whole is going to announce in 2024 expansion of 2 cities getting NBA teams, according to some inside rumors, Seattle and Las Vegas seem to be the main contenders on the table, with LeBron trying to be the majority stake holder in the Las Vegas team, if it happens. That’s the NBA out of the way and again very soon in comparison to what we think, and to gloss over the MLS, apparently San Diego was chosen over Las Vegas, simply due to the fact that Bill Foley who led charge of the implementation, was told by the MLS essentially that a team in a city of this size and stature would take way too much money to fund, namely $500 million. In simple terms, the MLS can’t afford us.

It’s very exciting times to live in Vegas as a sports fan. Having already hosted events like the Gold Cup, Pro Bowl, and upcoming Super Bowl in 2024 and a ten year agreement with F1 going all the way to 2034, Vegas is destined to continue growing and expanding in all horizons and as an avid sports fan and analyst, it is absolutely wonderful for my excitement and career.