New research shows that Las Vegas’ pivot in recent years toward large-scale non-gaming entertainment, big-time sports in particular, as a major feature of the Sin City experience is paying hefty dividends.
The “Southern Nevada Sports & Entertainment Outlook,” a study commissioned by a group of business and community leaders known as the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance, says that sports and entertainment contributed $2.5 billion, or more than 7 percent, to last year’s total visitor spend of $35 billion, while their total economic impact is averaging more than $3.9 billion a year.
The T-Mobile Arena, which opened on the Las Vegas Strip in 2016, was the top-grossing venue of its kind in the world for the 12 months ended in June with ticket sales of $164 million. That’s more than New York City’s Madison Square Garden and London’s O2 Arena.
“There is a significant amount of research indicating the sports and entertainment are not only things that visitors do while they are in Las Vegas but, in many cases, are the reason they choose to come to Las Vegas,” the study said.
The 20,000-seat T-Mobile, home to the National Hockey League’s Las Vegas Golden Knights and an array of concerts, championship boxing and mixed martial arts contests and college basketball tournaments, is one of 12 large-scale venues in and around Las Vegas that boast a total seating capacity of 260,000. That will grow to more than 350,000 over the next two years with the addition of the Las Vegas Ballpark, which will host the city’s Triple-A baseball team, the MSG Sphere at The Venetian resort complex on the Strip, and the $1.8 billion domed Las Vegas Stadium, which will house the National Football League Raiders when the team relocates from Oakland, Calif., for the start of the 2020 season.
At that point, the study projects, the incremental economic impact will grow to $1.45 billion from $824 million just five years ago.
Which amply justifies investments such as a new permanent outdoor equestrian center at the Plaza Hotel & Casino. The Core Arena, as it’s called, opened last week, aiming to capture for Downtown Las Vegas some spinoff from the 10-day Wrangler National Finals Rodeo held annually at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center farther south. The facility will feature two arenas for roping practice and exercise during NFR, which concludes December 16, and after that will serve as the city’s newest outdoor event venue, diversifying the Downtown experience and attracting more business and people to Fremont Street year-round.
“With the evolution of our arena now and what happened last year and what we’ve grown to this year, I think it’s only going to get bigger and better,” said Plaza CEO Jonathan Jossel. “Where else in Las Vegas can you kiss your horse goodnight and then go inside and gamble and have dinner? There is one other place, but this is Downtown Las Vegas and this is a little different.”
Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, husband of current Mayor Carolyn Goodman, said, “I don’t think there’s another city that has had the foresight and leadership on the part of the private sector to be able to do something like this.”
The Outlook study cites research by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority that shows approximately 6 percent of the 40 million-plus visitors that come yearly to Southern Nevada have the primary purpose of attending a special event.
“Las Vegas is already benefiting from incremental travel decisions based on special events and sporting events,” it notes, “with throngs of opposing teams’ fans visible at Vegas Golden Knights games and out-of-state Raiders fans buying up large blocks of season tickets.”
The Electric Daisy Carnival brings in the most out-of-town visitors at 125,000, the study said, followed by the Cowboy Christmas Gift Show at around 105,000. Bowling championships at the South Point Hotel and Casino bring in more than 95,000 visitors; the annual NASCAR race in the spring, 73,000; the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon, 54,000; the NBA Summer League brings in 34,000.
Which is why, the study says, Las Vegas has successfully pursued events as diverse as the NFR, USA Sevens Rugby and the Pac 12 Conference basketball tournament and is going after the Super Bowl and the NFL Draft, the NCAA Men’s Basketball’s Final Four and other regional tournaments.
It concludes that “Securing these future events while also continuing to develop and grow existing events is a vital component in the future success of Southern Nevada’s tourism industry.”
