Las Vegas, Nevada - Sports

Sports

Las Vegas does not have major-league sports, although the metropolitan population is as large or larger than many cities with professional sports teams. Part of the reason is that professional leagues are concerned about legal sports betting and the competition in entertainment. The city currently has two minor league sports teams, in baseball and hockey: The Las Vegas 51s of the Pacific Coast League (the AAA farm club of the Los Angeles Dodgers), and the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL, respectively.

In the past, the city had teams in the Canadian Football League, the XFL and the Arena Football League. There was recent mention in the local media that the San Diego Chargers of the NFL may be considering Las Vegas as a relocation destination. There is speculation that the completion of a new arena (currently under construction) will bring teams from the NBA and NHL. The city is reportedly on the short list of Major League Soccer for an expansion franchise in the near future. There have also been contacts between city officials and several Major League Baseball owners regarding relocation. Major League Baseball will hold their 2008 winter meetings in Las Vegas.

High profile one-time and limited-duration sporting events have been successful. Las Vegas hosted the NBA 2007 NBA All-Star Game. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series has drawn up to 165,000 fans. Las Vegas also hosts a significant number of professional fights. Many of these fights (such as those in MMA's UFC) take place near downtown or on the Strip in one of the major resort/hotel/casino event centers. Mandalay Bay is frequently a top contender as a venue for the UFC. The National Finals Rodeo has drawn thousands of fans to the city since 1985, and a contract extension was signed in 2005 keeping the event in Las Vegas through 2014. The NBA Summer League is currently held in the city, and the USA Olympic basketball team trained in the city in 2008.