Sports in Las Vegas

Sports In Las Vegas

There are many sports activities in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, most of which actually take place in unincorporated communities within the metropolitan area. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, located just off the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, fields Division I athletic teams. Sam Boyd Stadium, located in Whitney, hosts UNLV football; the Las Vegas Bowl, an annual NCAA bowl game; and the USA Sevens, the largest rugby tournament in North America. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway (LVMS) just north of the city hosts NASCAR and other automotive events. The National Finals Rodeo is held annually at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus. Visitors and residents also have many options for boating, golf, hiking, rock climbing. The city has many parks which offer a wide range of activities.

Las Vegas is one of the largest cities in the United States without a major league sports team. Las Vegas is home to two minor league sports teams: the Las Vegas 51s of the AAA Pacific Coast League (baseball), and the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL (hockey). The Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League played in the league's first three championship games, winning the first two in 2009 and 2010. The only team to actually play in the City of Las Vegas is the 51s. Due in part to perceived risks with legal sports betting, no major professional sports league has ever had a team in Las Vegas, with the exception of the Utah Jazz's half-season at the Thomas & Mack Center in 1983–84. The placement of a major-league team in Las Vegas is an ongoing topic of discussion between city leaders and the professional sports leagues.

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels (the name Runnin' Rebels is used only by the men's basketball team) host Mountain West Conference events on the UNLV campus and eight miles (13 km) east, at Sam Boyd Stadium. Indoor sporting events are held at the Thomas & Mack Center complex, both at the main arena and at Cox Pavilion, a smaller arena attached to the complex.

Professional outdoor football has been attempted three times in Las Vegas. The first two attempts, the XFL's Las Vegas Outlaws and the Canadian Football League's Las Vegas Posse, were unsuccessful, with both teams folding after only one season of play. The XFL folded outright, while the Posse were a failure at the box office, part of the CFL's failed U.S. expansion attempt. A third attempt at professional football was begun in the fall of 2009 with the United Football League's Las Vegas Locomotives.