When you think of Las Vegas, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For years the response would probably be casinos, buffets and shows. However, the times they are a changing. More and more, sporting events are becoming the big draw for visitors to Vegas. To be fair, boxing, rodeo, mixed martial arts and races, plus the occasional championship game for a variety of sports have been a top reason to spend time on the Strip for a long time. But it’s the more recent additions of professional sports leagues calling Las Vegas home that is turning heads and giving more people an excuse to spend time in this desert oasis. Three major sports franchises now call Las Vegas home—the NHL’s Golden Knights, the NFL’s Raiders, and the WNBA’s Aces. There’s another in the process of relocating to Vegas, the MLB’s The Athletics, set to officially begin hosting games by 2028.
Hockey: The Vegas Golden Knights
Who would have thought a hockey team in the middle of the desert would be the trendsetter? The first professional sporting franchise to call Las Vegas home was the Golden Knights in 2017. And they hit the ground running (or, rather, skating). Never before in the history of the National Hockey League has an expansion team had such a successful first year. The Golden Knights made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in their first season, with their 13 playoff wins putting them in the record books despite not securing the championship that year. The hockey community and burgeoning fan base took notice, and the Knights went on to qualify for the playoffs the following three consecutive years. In 2023, the Golden Knights quashed any doubt in their abilities and won the title in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Golden Knights’ home field is the T-Mobile Arena, found on the Strip next to the Park MGM and the New York-New York. Their team colors are steel grey, gold, red and black. The NHL season runs from the fall to the spring, with regular season games typically beginning around October and the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning around April.
Basketball: Las Vegas Aces
The popularity of the WNBA only continues to grow year after year, and a lot of that popularity is due to the Las Vegas Aces. This team has been on fire the last few years, winning back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022 and 2023. The Aces are the first Las Vegas-based, professional sports franchise to win a national title. The team has been through a number of changes through the years. They began as one of the original eight WNBA teams in 1997, but at that time they were known as the Utah Starzz. They moved to San Antonio, Texas in 2003, becoming the San Antonio Silver Stars. These early iterations of the team had some great players, but mixed success in the playoffs. Once they made the move to Las Vegas in 2018 and became the Aces, their fortunes began to turn around. That first, 2018 season in Vegas didn’t see them qualify for the playoffs, but they’ve found their foothold in every season since.
The Aces’ home field is also found on the Strip, at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort. The team colors are black, silver and white. The Aces are the first WNBA team to have an entire training facility built just for their use. (All other WNBA teams have to share the space with other teams and groups.) It’s pretty impressive, at around 50,000 sq. ft. and they do a lot of community outreach, such as camps and clinics to help train and inspire future athletes. The WNBA season runs from late spring and into the fall, with playoff games typically beginning in September. It should also be noted, Aces games are some of the more affordable sporting events to be found in Vegas and easily worth your time if you’re in town during a home game.
Football: The Las Vegas Raiders
Ah, the Las Vegas Raiders. This is a team that needs no introduction, but I’m still getting used to dropping Oakland from their name. (Hey, 60-year-old habits die hard—they were the Oakland Raiders from 1960 until 2020!) The Raiders have a storied past, full of triumphs, tribulations and three Super Bowl wins through the years. They have brought joy and tears to generations of football fans, and given us some absolute legends along the way. (Perhaps most well known is John Madden—their head coach for ten years.) The Raiders have settled into their new digs in Vegas and brought legions of fans along with them. Though they’re still looking to recapture the magic of previous years’ success on the field, their popularity is as big as ever. When there’s a home game, room rates across Las Vegas spike. Football is America’s most-watched and probably best-loved sport, and the Raiders have brought a whole new reason to love Las Vegas.
The Raiders’ home field is Allegiant Stadium, built specifically for the team right on the Las Vegas Strip. (You’ll also find other things here between games, such as big music acts and other championship events such as the 2024 Super Bowl LVIII.) The team colors are silver and black, and almost always have been. (They had gold and black jerseys in their first couple seasons.) The NFL season runs from fall through the winter, with the regular season games typically beginning in September and ending in January. Playoff games usually begin in January and end with the Super Bowl in February.
Baseball: The Las Vegas Athletics
Another Oakland team moves to the desert? It’s in the works but won’t be official until the new stadium in Vegas is completed. This team has even more history than the Raiders. The Athletics have been around since 1901, where they began as the Philadelphia Athletics. They moved to Kansas City in 1955, then on to Oakland in 1968. Though the full name of the team, the Athletics, has been with them since the start, they are so commonly called the (Oakland) A’s that many casual fans don’t know what it the “A” stands for. While many teams that relocate to new towns change their name, the Athletics plan on keeping their name in Las Vegas. (They’ve dropped the city name from their title while the stadium in Vegas is being built, even though they’re playing in Sacramento.)
The A’s have a long history to pull from, having won seventeen division titles, fifteen pennants and nine World Series through the years. (The second-most winning team in the American League, with only the New York Yankees having a better record.) Their “A” logo is iconic, being one of the oldest sports logos still in use, and the team colors of green, gold and white are instantly recognizable. It’s almost fitting that this long-lived team’s new stadium is replacing a historic Las Vegas property—the Tropicana. Slated to be finished in 2028, the designs for the new stadium look pretty impressive. The addition of Major League Baseball to the Vegas landscape is sure bring even more fun and excitement to the already well represented playing field that is Professional sports in Las Vegas.
If you’re going to Vegas for a sporting event, a wild weekend or for a work conference, it’s easy to be overwhelmed with options. Luckily, I’ve seen and done just about everything Las Vegas has to offer, and Revealed Travel Guides covers it all. Whether you’re looking to explore the Strip and Fremont Street, or get out and see the nearby natural wonders around Vegas, my in-depth guide will show you the best there is while steering you away from the things that aren’t worth your precious vacation time. My believable guides lead to unbelievable vacations.
0 Comments