Sports in Las Vegas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article covers sports in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada.
Las Vegas is one of the largest cities in the United States without a major professional sports league team - if it does not get a team before the 2010 U.S. census it will likely be confirmed as the largest metropolitan area without one. There are 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. 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 hosts several non-major-league sports teams: the Las Vegas 51s, a Los Angeles Dodgers farm club in the AAA Pacific Coast League, the Las Vegas Stars of the International Basketball League and the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL hockey league. Due in part to the perceived risks of professional sports in a city with legal sports betting, none of the major professional sports leagues have ever had a team in Las Vegas, with the notable exception of the Utah Jazz' half-season schedule at the Thomas and Mack Center in 1983-84. The possibility of relocating a professional major-league team to Las Vegas is an ongoing discussion that city leaders are having with several sports leagues.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels (the name Runnin' Rebels is used only by the men's basketball program) 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 (CFL) Las Vegas Posse. Both teams folded after only 1 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 1st 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, Nevada sports books agreed not to take bets on the game.
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[edit] The professional sports league problem
There have been many reasons that have been given to why Las Vegas has not been granted a professional franchise.
The most prominent of these is the perceived stigma of legal sports betting, which may be seen as being in conflict of interest with any potential pro sports team being located in Las Vegas by the NBA, the NFL, MLB and the NHL. All four leagues have strong anti-gambling policies, going so far as to prohibit their leagues' personnel from having "any" involvement in gambling interests. There are currently no laws preventing Nevada sports books from accepting bets on local professional teams, and many casinos have said they would not voluntarily take a local team "off the boards."
Second is that some potential owners believe a professional sports franchise would have a difficulty competing for an audience, stating Las Vegas numerous other entertainment options and Las Vegas' ranking as only the 51st largest television market in North America.
The final explanation given is the lack of a suitable stadiums and arenas to host a professional franchise. Cashman Field, Sam Boyd Stadium, the Thomas & Mack Center, MGM Grand Garden Arena, and Mandalay Bay Events Center are all either out-dated, or have been deemed unsuitable enough for any major league professional sports franchise. The latter problem may become a moot point, at least for the NHL and NBA, as Harrah's Entertainment and the Anschutz Entertainment Group have committed to building a new arena on a parcel of land behind Harrah's Paris and Bally's properties off of the Strip. The groundbreaking of the new arena is slated for the summer of 2008, with an expectant opening in the fall of 2010. Although the new arena is all but a sure thing, there has still be no announcements for replacing Sam Boyd Stadium or Cashman Field.[1][2][3]
[edit] Future major league prospects
[edit] MLB
In April 2004, Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig publicly revealed that MLB was considering Las Vegas as a potential future home for the Montreal Expos. However, MLB eventually chose Washington, D.C. as the Expos' new home. Washington may have won primarily because the city agreed to provide a new stadium built entirely with public funding.[4]
[edit] NBA
Rumors surfaced in 2005 about the possible relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Las Vegas or another city if Sacramento cannot build a new arena for the team. In November 2006, California voters rejected a proposal to fund a new arena for the Kings in Sacramento. Whether the Kings move to another city remains to be seen. Along with the Kings, the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, and Seattle SuperSonics had been possible candidates to relocate to Las Vegas.[5][6]
[edit] NFL
Publicly, the NFL has expressed strong opposition to sports betting and both the league and current and prospective NFL owners have expressed the least public interest among the four leagues with regards to putting a team in Las Vegas. However, with football's national popularity and only eight home regular season games to compete with other entertainment options (and very few playoff games compared to the other leagues), an NFL team may be a good fit for the city.[7]
[edit] NHL
Film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer currently does not own a major sports team but he reportedly 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]
[edit] Special sports events
Las Vegas hosts the Las Vegas Bowl, a college bowl game, around Christmas day.
In 2005-06, the city hosted ArenaBowl XIX and ArenaBowl XX at the Thomas & Mack Center. It was the AFL's first-ever neutral-site title game. After two years of underwhelming attendances (neither game was close to a sellout), ArenaBowl XXI was held in at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans,LA in 2007.
[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 Strikers | NPSL | Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex | 2003 | 0 |
| Las Vegas Tabagators | WPSL | Bettye Wilson Soccer Complex | 2005 | 0 |
| Las Vegas Stars | International Basketball League | Stations Sports Complex | 2007 | 0 |
| Las Vegas PROLYMs | American Basketball Association | TBD | 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)
- Hatton vs. Mayweather (2007)
- Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe (2008)
[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] Las Vegas Golf Courses
The Las Vegas area is home to over 60 golf courses. These include:
- 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 (golf course)
- Desert Rose Golf Course
- Las Vegas Golf Club
[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 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The CanAm races 1966-68 were held at the old Stardust Raceway and were officially called the Stardust Grand Prix.
In July of 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.[10]
[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 Craftsman 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 -- Built Ford Tough World Finals
- National Finals Rodeo -- 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) [1]
[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] References
- ^ Vegas, baby? Arena envisioned to draw pro team to city. ESPN (August 22, 2007).
- ^ Nakashima, Ryan (August 22, 2007). Harrah's, AEG to build Las Vegas arena to attract NHL, NBA teams. USA Today.
- ^ Knightly, Arnold M. (August 22, 2007). Joint Venture: Arena plan unveiled. Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- ^ Olney, Buster (January 26, 2004). Las Vegas Expos not such a longshot. ESPN.
- ^ Robbins, Liz (February 15, 2007). Las Vegas yearns for a team. International Herald Tribune.
- ^ Sonics owner Bennett tells officials he's eyeing Vegas. ESPN (April 28, 2007).
- ^ Kilsby, James (October 30, 2007). All Bets Are Off For NFL's London Debut. Gambling Compliance.
- ^ Dewey, Todd (June 08, 2007). Las Vegas needs arena for NHL to take root. Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- ^ Gallagher, Tony (June 08, 2007). NHL flirts with Las Vegas. CanWest News Service.
- ^ Las Vegas approves Champ Car race. ESPN (July 20, 2006).
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