Las Vegas plans to change its image to a sports city

What do most people think of when Las Vegas comes up? Right: casinos, slot machines, shows and a lot of wild parties. According to the city officials, this should very soon be history. They want to move away from the image of a sin city or at least relativise it. Sports and breath taking sports events should become the new sign for the gambling metropole.

In the past years Las Vegas managed to attract even more sports events, different kinds of sports and leagues to its districts. First came the NHL and the NFL - in 2023 the Formula 1 will be hosted for the first time in the desert city - as we had also reported - there are plans for a long-term cooperation although no contract has been signed.

According to an article in the Sports Illustrated this is not the end: the NBA and the MLB will follow. Besides winning the top basketball and baseball, Las Vegas wants to become a sports metropole. They want to offer the visitors what they do not get anywhere else. Besides the many sports entertainment and the impressive locations, they are also targeting the games of chance, mainly sports betting, which till now has been less lucrative. However all this will not work without gambling.

The MSG sphere as ambassador of change

Currently the highest spherical building of the world is being built in Las Vegas. The MSG Sphere should also be visible from the outer space. The outer part of the building will have a surface area of 55,700 sqm and it will be fitted with LED lights. This provides a huge screen which can be used to stream different contents.

The MSG Sphere can take 17,500 spectators and should be able to host large sports events - just like the New York Pendant. Yes, of course, the abbreviation “MSG” stands for “Madison Square Garden”. It is not a coincidence that the operator of the world famous (Sports)-Arena in New York is building this branch in the future sports mecca Las Vegas.

Besides this the city has also invested in other large sports facilities: the enormous ice hockey club Golden Knights is using a highly modern hall for its home games and the Las Vegas Raiders, which had previously been “poached” from Oakland have been playing in the enormous Allegiant Stadium, the Black Stadium since 2020. In 2024 the Superbowl will also be landing. One should not forget: even the Strip will be used as a sports venue – the Formula 1 race cars will also be racing directly on the most sparkling city in the world.

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” was in the past – in the future it will be “What happens in Vegas, only happens here.”

The Sports Illustrated is appropriately formulating the change with the help of one of the most famous “slogans” of the Sin City: The previous motto “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” will be gradually replaced by the new motto “What happens in Vegas, only happens here”. They want to give the visitors what they want. The expectations have however changed.

The somewhat disreputable attractions are becoming less attractive and the unique experiences from the entertainment industry and the professional sports are in turn become more attractive. Besides the football, ice hockey and the Formula 1 the city is eyeing the NBA. Possibly Las Vegas is playing its cards on the Basketball-A-Stars in Oakland since they are currently very unhappy with the stadium situation.

Without any doubt, whether in basketball, baseball or in other large (US)sports - the future sports metropole offers a lot of potential. The above average purchasing powers or at least the purchasing willingness of the residents and the millions of visitors yearly make it very likely that the city officials will still want to set things in motion to fulfil their plan.

One hopes to earn more income from sports betting by focussing more on sport

How could it be otherwise: sports and sports betting go together in Las Vegas of course. The city will still give the visitors what they want – and these are (besides the classical sightseeing around the casinos, parties and co.) mainly sports betting services.

In the Allegiant Stadium there is already a large sports betting lounge. A special hotel in Downtown can even provide 530 sqm big screen for sports transmissions. Guests can relax in the pool there, follow several live games and enter pools on these games from their smartphone.

Conclusion

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