ASK ME ANYTHING
- Thread starter mrraskal666
- Start date
Several reasons have been cited for the lack of a major professional team:
* Las Vegas only became a large market very recently.
* The perceived stigma of legal sports betting may be seen as being in conflict of interest with any potential pro sports team being located in Las Vegas by the NBA, the NFL, the MLB and the NHL. All four leagues have strong anti-gambling policies, going so far as to prohibit their leagues' personnel from having any involvement in gambling interests. There are currently no laws preventing Nevada sports books from accepting bets on local professional teams, and many casinos have said they would not voluntarily take a local team "off the boards."
* Some potential owners believe a professional sports franchise would have serious difficulty competing for an audience in a city with so many entertainment options. Also, Las Vegas is not on a work schedule like most cities. Las Vegas is a true 24/7 city, which results in a smaller potential market for a sports event. An estimated 40 percent of the local population works in 24-hour industries.[citation needed]
* Las Vegas is still a relatively small television market, because most of the immediate surrounding area is sparsely populated and the more populous outlying areas were all drawn into the markets of larger cities farther away decades ago. For example, St. George, Utah is now part of the Salt Lake City market, and Bullhead City, Arizona is part of the Phoenix market. Las Vegas' TV market has been ranked as the 51st largest in the US, behind places like Albuquerque, Greensboro, Harrisburg, and Hartford. Furthermore, although Nevada's population is growing rapidly, it still had under two million people in the 2000 census. No other state with less than two million people has a major league franchise, and there is only one team (the Utah Jazz) based in a state with a population of less than three million.
Rumors surfaced in 2005 about the possible relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Las Vegas if Sacramento cannot build a new arena for the team. Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof have ties to the Las Vegas as co-owners of The Palms Hotel & Casino. In November 2006, California voters rejected a proposal to fund a new arena for the Kings in Sacramento; if the Kings do move to Las Vegas, they will become the first major sports franchise to move four times (having previously represented Rochester, New York, Cincinnati and Kansas City.)
In April 2004, Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig publicly revealed that MLB was considering Las Vegas as a potential future home for the Montreal Expos. However, MLB eventually chose Washington, D.C. as the Expos' new home. Washington won primarily because they agreed to provide a new stadium built entirely with public funding, something Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said that the city will not do for a pro sports franchise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_in_Las_Vegas
* Las Vegas only became a large market very recently.
* The perceived stigma of legal sports betting may be seen as being in conflict of interest with any potential pro sports team being located in Las Vegas by the NBA, the NFL, the MLB and the NHL. All four leagues have strong anti-gambling policies, going so far as to prohibit their leagues' personnel from having any involvement in gambling interests. There are currently no laws preventing Nevada sports books from accepting bets on local professional teams, and many casinos have said they would not voluntarily take a local team "off the boards."
* Some potential owners believe a professional sports franchise would have serious difficulty competing for an audience in a city with so many entertainment options. Also, Las Vegas is not on a work schedule like most cities. Las Vegas is a true 24/7 city, which results in a smaller potential market for a sports event. An estimated 40 percent of the local population works in 24-hour industries.[citation needed]
* Las Vegas is still a relatively small television market, because most of the immediate surrounding area is sparsely populated and the more populous outlying areas were all drawn into the markets of larger cities farther away decades ago. For example, St. George, Utah is now part of the Salt Lake City market, and Bullhead City, Arizona is part of the Phoenix market. Las Vegas' TV market has been ranked as the 51st largest in the US, behind places like Albuquerque, Greensboro, Harrisburg, and Hartford. Furthermore, although Nevada's population is growing rapidly, it still had under two million people in the 2000 census. No other state with less than two million people has a major league franchise, and there is only one team (the Utah Jazz) based in a state with a population of less than three million.
Rumors surfaced in 2005 about the possible relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Las Vegas if Sacramento cannot build a new arena for the team. Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof have ties to the Las Vegas as co-owners of The Palms Hotel & Casino. In November 2006, California voters rejected a proposal to fund a new arena for the Kings in Sacramento; if the Kings do move to Las Vegas, they will become the first major sports franchise to move four times (having previously represented Rochester, New York, Cincinnati and Kansas City.)
In April 2004, Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig publicly revealed that MLB was considering Las Vegas as a potential future home for the Montreal Expos. However, MLB eventually chose Washington, D.C. as the Expos' new home. Washington won primarily because they agreed to provide a new stadium built entirely with public funding, something Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said that the city will not do for a pro sports franchise.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_in_Las_Vegas