The Las Vegas Aces won the WNBA Championship in 2022
Sunset Station Casino in 2015 . “ We ’ re going to make this work .”
It definitely was a leap of faith on Foley ’ s part . The NHL was noncommittal to Las Vegas , and Foley did a lot of the ground work as if he had been awarded a team .
He announced a season ticket drive for a team that didn ’ t yet exist . His goal was 10,000 seats sold . In three months , he had 13,200 and 1,000 commitments from corporations and 735 suite seats .
“ To me , that ’ s a statement ,” Foley said at the time . “ Our goal was 10,000 , and we ’ re still selling tickets .”
The NHL definitely took notice . They realized sports betting wasn ’ t an issue . It also helped that the town had a population over 2 million . At the owner ’ s meeting on June 22 , 2016 , Las Vegas was named the first expansion franchise since 2000 .
Aces Find a Home
Just one year after the Golden Knights arrived , the WNBA moved its worst franchise to Las Vegas . The San Antonio Stars , which was 8-26 in 2017 , came to Las Vegas and was renamed the Aces .
The person credited with getting professional basketball to Las Vegas was Jim Murren , then MGM Resorts Internationals chairman and CEO . To Murren , however , it was always more than just a sports team .
“ The team is of utmost importance to MGM ,” Murren said after the team arrived . “ Not only are we building up sports in Las Vegas , we ’ re empowering women . To elevate the understanding this is a relevant place and the need to accelerate the excellence of women , I think that ’ s critical . Diversity is long overdue . Progress has been made but it ’ s certainly a work in progress .
“ Anything we can do to help build up the brands of women in sports and in business , to improve the gap of inequality that exists by gender , is something MGM is very focused on .”
The team was sold to Raiders owner Mark Davis in 2021 for around $ 2 million . Davis was another proponent of the WNBA , and he began to make sure the team had everything it needed .
The Aces , who won the WNBA Championship in 2022 , now have a 64,000-square-foot practice facility , the first such place dedicated solely to a WNBA team . Davis said his investment has grown from $ 2 million to an approximate $ 14 million . He even got future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady to become a minority owner .
NFL owners voted 31-1 to approve the Raiders ’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas
Raiders Not Welcomed by All
The team that made the biggest splash coming to Las Vegas was the former Oakland Raiders . The team had already enjoyed a following in the city , considering its proximity to Oakland and Los Angeles . In 2017 , however , the rumors of Vegas getting the Silver and Black were getting louder by the day .
But Las Vegas wasn ’ t owner Davis ’ first choice . The son of the iconic Al Davis had his sights set on either getting a new stadium in Oakland , the team ’ s home at the time , or going back to Los Angeles .
When neither of those locations materialized , Davis had to go to Plan C , and enlisted the help of one of Nevada ’ s most powerful casino owners , the late Sheldon Adelson .
It was Adelson who got the highest amount ever , $ 750 million , in public funding for an NFL stadium . He also pledged $ 650 million of his own money . Davis , who pledged $ 500 million , was well on his way of covering the cost of the estimated $ 1.9 billion to build the stadium .
But Davis had to get the NFL ’ s approval , and that in some ways was going to be trickier than securing funding . The NFL , two years earlier in 2015 , had shut down Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo ’ s fantasy football convention because it was being held at the Sands Expo convention center , near the Venetian hotel and casino .
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was a staunch opponent of mixing his league and gambling . Getting a team to Southern Nevada was going to need some help from other owners . Fortunately , Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stepped in and started lobbying other owners to get the Raiders to Vegas . Part of Jones ’ motivation was he didn ’ t want a third NFL team in Texas . Davis had said he was interested in relocating to San Antonio . Jones pushed for Vegas and got the other owners to go along .
Not everyone , however , was excited to see Davis bring the team to town . Foley said he was troubled that so much public money was being spent on the team . Foley didn ’ t ask Las Vegas for a nickel . He paid the $ 500 million expansion fee himself , and had T-Mobile Arena constructed with private funds .
“ I felt like there were a lot better ways to spend $ 750 million than bringing the Raiders to Las Vegas ,” Foley said on a local radio show in 2016 . “ We could spend it on police , firefighters and teachers and have them all be the best in the country . But I guess we ’ re going to spend it on the Raiders .”
On March 27 , 2017 , NFL owners voted 31-1 to approve the Raiders ’ move from Oakland to Las Vegas .
The Raiders , who were next to last in value at $ 1.4 million , watched their valuation jump to $ 2.1 billion after the news , and by 2022 the team was estimated to be worth $ 5.1 billion .
Betting Lines Affected
A byproduct of the Raiders ’ move to Las Vegas has been the action the team is seeing at the sportsbooks . They always got a decent amount of handle , but now Raider bets continue to be a consistent leader on Sundays during NFL season .
24 Global Gaming Business AUGUST 2023