MLB, NBA are interested in operating in the city?
There has been a sports rush to Las Vegas over the past decade with the National Hockey League leading the way by placing an expansion team in the city. Then Mark Davis moved his National Football League Raiders franchise from Oakland to Las Vegas. Oakland Athletics ownership is looking into the feasibility of moving the business there although that might be a leverage move in the stadium game as Athletics management knows the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market is bigger and wealthier than Las Vegas. But Athletics ownership cannot get a San Francisco Bay waterfront stadium built as of yet and Las Vegas may be an alternative. Last week, Formula One racing announced it will stage a race in the city in 2023.
Also last week, the Oak View Group revealed plans to build an arena just south of the Las Vegas Strip, which would serve as the centerpiece of an entertainment hub that would include a casino and a hotel. There is a functioning arena in town that hosts the NHL team. The National Basketball Association is very interested in Las Vegas as a possible future market and having an arena where a Las Vegas team owner could keep virtually all of the revenue generated inside the building would make sense. Oak View Group operates an 18,100-seat arena in Seattle that is the home of the NHL’s Kraken franchise and an arena in Elmont, New York that is the New York Islanders NHL team home. Las Vegas is a tourist town and tourists do spend money there but sports is more of a hometown activity. Can Las Vegas support all of the sporting events? Between the Golden Knights and Raiders there could be as many as 60 games a year but if the NBA and MLB come, that could mean another 125 games and that is without the playoffs. Las Vegas may be sports saturated soon.
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
