A new report on sports tourism validates what Las Vegas experts already know — that there’s plenty of money to be made as a host to participatory and spectator sports.
Sports ETA, a Cincinnati, Ohio-based trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, on Wednesday released its 2026 State of the Industry Report that says sports tourism has evolved into a $274.5 billion total economic impact industry, generating $111.2 billion in direct spending, supporting 1.6 million jobs, and producing $20.5 billion in state and local tax revenue nationwide.
Representatives of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority already know how lucrative sports tourism is, rebranding the city as the “Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World.
