UNLV history professor Michael Green on the continued evolution of pro sports in Las Vegas and its road to the Super Bowl.
From the article:
Featuring everything from Formula 1 championship racing to the NFL’s top prize in the Super Bowl, the events signing on are getting larger and more spectacular. That’s not by mistake, and Las Vegas isn’t swinging above its weight class. This was always the way it was trending, with the seeds to sports success planted deep in the city’s past.
Having tourists sit in race and sportsbooks for events such as the Super Bowl and NCAA Championship games has always been a revenue generator for the hotels and casinos. But the growth had to come from beyond the Strip, and Southern Nevada has grown enormously.
“Las Vegas has considered sports important from the get-go,” said UNLV history chair and professor Michael Green. “It’s been something that is a tourist attraction, but also a community attraction.”
“The census of 1900 showed a population of 30 people,” said Green. “The population of the Las Vegas Valley is now about 2.4 million. The area is now big enough to support sports teams. At the same time, the growth of the gaming and tourism industry has meant that there’s also a tourist market coming in for these sporting events.”
