LVCVA to hire chief sports officer to oversee major local events

With sports becoming a major driver of special events in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority will hire a chief sports officer and pay that person up to $347,400 a year.

LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said Tuesday the new executive is expected to be announced soon and the LVCVA board of directors on Tuesday unanimously approved a salary range for the new executive.

The LVCVA on Wednesday will name a vice president of sports business development. That executive and the vice president of event operations will report to the chief sports officer, but in the interim, they will report to Hill.

The range authorized by the board allows the executive to be paid a minimum $248,600 a year, a mid-range of $298,000 and a maximum of $347,400.

The chief sports officer also will be eligible for a bonus of up to 25 percent of the annual salary.

The range ranks below the salary levels of the CEO and president, the chief marketing officer and the chief sales officer, but above the level of the general counsel, the chief financial officer, the chief strategy officer and the chief operating officer.

Hill explained that the decision to create the chief sports officer position began in the summer when former Chief Operating Officer Brian Yost essentially performed his job and the sports executive job as part of his duties. When Yost retired, it was decided to split the responsibilities so that there would be better focus on the sports component.

Hill said the new executive would work with three sports-related components – key events, the massive marquee events that also bring attention to Las Vegas, such as the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball Final Four and next year’s College Football Championship game; major events, large sporting events that aren’t quite up to the level of F1 or the Super Bowl; and youth and amateur events, the dozens of youth and amateur basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball and soccer tournaments that draw thousands of participants and, for youth events, their parents.

“Each one of those we want to maximize,” Hill said. “There’s an awful lot of opportunity left in sports to do that. And, there are a lot of properties in Las Vegas that are counting on us to help bring those events, so we’re excited about that opportunity and that’s why we are building this team in order to do that we think is really important.”

Hill said building infrastructure has been a key toward making Las Vegas a successful sports destination.

Allegiant Stadium can seat more than 60,000 fans for football games and soccer matches and the soon-to-be-completed $600 million Las Vegas Convention Center upgrade is ideal for hosting multiple basketball games and volleyball matches in a tournament format.

Hill said within two years, the city will get another sports venue – the domed baseball stadium that will become home to the Athletics at Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue with a capacity of more than 30,000 people.

Hill said the new executive will help coordinate events at all of the venues.

While the amateur and youth sports component isn’t as high profile as the big stadium events, they’re important to visitation to the city because Las Vegas has the hotel capacity to host multiple youth teams and their parents when they arrive for tournaments.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.