Hoping to one day see a Super Bowl in Las Vegas? How about a WrestleMania or the World Cup?
Governor Brian Sandoval has just moved the city one step closer to landing those types of events by establishing the Southern Nevada Sporting Event Committee.
The first order of business for the committee is making a pitch to host the 2019 or 2020 NFL Draft.
“I was excited to hear that Las Vegas is one of five finalists under consideration to host the NFL Draft in 2019 or 2020,” Governor Brian Sandoval said.
“Las Vegas is home to the Golden Knights hockey franchise, a United Soccer League team, the Las Vegas Aces basketball team, a Triple-A baseball team and will soon be the home of the Raiders football franchise. With the new Nevada and the existence of these teams in Las Vegas, additional opportunities to attract major sporting events and associated activities to our state are arising, especially with the addition of the new stadium. As such, I believe it is prudent for the Sporting Event Committee to examine the possibilities and report back to me and the Legislature on what’s possible and how Nevada might secure new and bigger sporting events.”
The NFL Draft was hosted in New York City's Radio City Music Hall for decades but recently the NFL decided to take their spectacle on the road. This year's draft is expected to sell over 200,000 tickets in Dallas' AT&T Stadium.
Hosting a future draft in Las Vegas would give the NFL a similar opportunity. The new stadium would be able to house a massive crowd and the close proximity of the Strip would allow fans from all over the world to be accommodated comfortably.
These are all factors the new sporting committee will pitch as they work to bring future events to Las Vegas.
