Las Vegas entertainment gets a makeover

Las Vegas, dubbed “the entertainment capital of the world,” is swiftly transitioning to a newer, even brighter era of local leisure.

F1 is also bringing its circuit to Vegas for the first time

Within the past five years, the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights spawned as an expansion team and both the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces relocated to the city known for high roller gambling. F1 is also bringing its circuit to Vegas for the first time this year, and there are rumors that the city could be the recipient of an NBA expansion team.

On top of that, celebrity musicians are securing residencies at local properties and ensuring that they will be prominent figures of the Las Vegas entertainment “refresh” that is in motion.?

Building for the future

Las Vegas has long been a popular destination for thrill-seeking travelers looking to bask in the lavishness of the city.?

The city welcomed 38.8 million visitors in 2022, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), a 20.5% increase on the previous year and further proof that the struggles faced in the early days of the worldwide pandemic are now firmly in the rearview mirror. The LVCVA also revealed that visitor spending in 2021 totaled $60.6bn, which was about half of the area’s entire gross domestic product (GDP).

The new and growing list of entertainment options represents not only attractive short-term prospects, but also reasons to set up permanent shop in Vegas – but it is still a work in progress.

According to ESPN, the Raiders only managed the third-lowest average attendance at NFL games in 2022. 95.5% of available seats per game were sold, which was the seventh-worst in the league. Las Vegas will host the Super Bowl in 2024, which will help lead to long-term growth in football’s popularity if it is done right.

The Aces had much more relative success than the Raiders. Data published by Statista showed that they ranked seventh in attendance of the league’s 12 teams, which puts them in a more competitive middle-ground.?

top of the NHL in the average percentage of tickets sold

The Knights, on the other hand, have already jumped to the top of the NHL in the average percentage of tickets sold. Their 17,500-seat T-Mobile arena is the eighth-smallest in the league, so it’s easy to imagine a world in which it is expanded or replaced by a new venue with more seats.

Book your next trip

As much as Las Vegas wants to continue its growth of long-term residents, it cannot help but be a top destination for those on the go.

Last month, the Sweet 16 returned to Las Vegas for the first time in decades. It had long been avoided because of the local prevalence of gambling and sports betting, but the nationwide swell in support of both made it easier to bring the tournament back.

F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, meanwhile, will take place from November 11-13. The most expensive tickets exceed $10,000, and that’s just for entry to the event. Fanatics can also buy packages from nearby hotels and resorts for up to $5m, if it’s in the budget.

If sports aren’t the flavor of the day, guests still have a wide array of entertainment options. Singer Adele extended her residency at Caesars Palace and could earn up to $1.2m per show with a three-show-per-week schedule. 

U2’s The Edge shared that his band might be in for a similar arrangement at the brand-new MSG Sphere as they are figuring out how a Las Vegas residency would look for them.

“The timetable exactly is TBD because the building is still being constructed,” said The Edge. “We’re waiting to hear exactly when we will get into the building.”

Not that it needed to be said, but Las Vegas is not going anywhere from a tourism standpoint, and it is becoming a more attractive place for a permanent stay. Who knows what it has planned next?