Las Vegas tourism officials are focusing more and more on sports to bring visitors to the city, starting with hosting the Final Four at Allegiant Stadium and hiring a chief sports officer.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board of Directors is meeting Tuesday to discuss spending $26 million to host the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament finals on April 1 and April 3, 2028. It will be the first time Las Vegas will host the Final Four. Las Vegas hosted the West Regional at T-Mobile Arena in 2023.
The $26 million will support event-related costs, including infrastructure, services, and activations required to meet NCAA specifications and ensure the successful execution of the 2028 Men’s Final Four, the LVCVA said.
“The Final Four is expected to generate significant economic impact and international media exposure for Las Vegas, reinforcing the destination’s reputation as a premier host city for world-class sporting events,” the LVCA said in its agenda item.
Indianapolis will host the Final Four in 2026, Detroit in 2027.
Besides allocating money for the Final Four, the Board will talk about other sports-tourism related items during the meeting, for example, establishing an executive-level position of chief sports officer as the agency continues to push its narrative as the “Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World.” The Board will also consider spending $400,000 to host the Sports Events & Tourism Association conference April 21-23, 2026.
Consisting of destination-marketing organizations, rights holders, venues, and industry partners from across the country, Sports ETA is the leading trade association for the sports-events and tourism industry. The annual Sports ETA Symposium brings together more than 1,000 industry professionals for education, networking, and business-development opportunities, making it a key platform for advancing relationships and securing future sporting events, according to the LVCVA.
“The proposed event-production agreement will provide the LVCVA with branding, promotional exposure, and the opportunity to host exclusive events throughout the conference to highlight Las Vegas as the undisputed global destination for sports,” the agenda item said.
Casino-industry consultant Oliver Lovat, CEO of the Denstone Group, said sports for Las Vegas have been a great success, made possible by investments in the city over the years.
“We have the facilities here to host every major sporting event on Earth,” Lovat said. “Sports are great for business. The vision of Las Vegas is to get people to come here for things other than to gamble. You can gamble in almost any state. Sports create events and we’ve become an event city. They bring a demographic to the city that spends money and stays for incremental days.”
Sports are also great for marketing Las Vegas, since the city’s skyline is being beamed across the world, Lovat said. Las Vegas’s Formula One race offers free media. The recently released Brad Pitt movie F1 stars Las Vegas as much as Pitt, he added. “To get all this free marketing and that engagement gives global marketing reach.”
Besides sports bringing more visitors, they “flatten the curve” during the slower months and quieter times, Lovat said. Those visitors stay in hotel rooms, drink, dine, and buy tickets, boosting resort revenues.
Nearly 60% of those attending Las Vegas Raider games at Allegiant Stadium are visiting the city.
“There’s not a better city to host sporting events,” Lovat said. “Look at what Las Vegas did for Wrestlemania. We’re close to the airport and have the room product and the entertainment product to keep those customers happy beyond the events they are coming for.”
