Las Vegas on NFL’s Super Bowl host city rotation list
Las Vegas’ inaugural Super Bowl hasn’t even been played — that’s four months away — and the NFL is already eyeing a potential return to Allegiant Stadium.
NFL Senior Director of Events Nicki Ewell said Las Vegas will be on a list of locations that will be considered to host future Super Bowls.
“We have amazing Super Bowl cities that go into rotation. Las Vegas will certainly be one of them as well,” Ewell said Saturday at Nobu Hotel inside Caesars Palace.
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority President and CEO Steve Hill chimed in after Ewell to make sure that he heard what he thought he did.
“I want to make a point, that may be the first time that someone has said that we are going to be in the rotation,” Hill said.
The abundance of event space, hotel rooms and entertainment options, on top of Raiders owner Mark Davis’ commitment to the city and the popularity of Allegiant Stadium from local and visiting fans, are a few of the reasons the city is so attractive to the NFL.
“We know this is an amazing Super Bowl city even without hosting,” Ewell said. “All 32 (teams’ fans) converge on this city. We love the sea of Silver and Black jerseys that come to Allegiant Stadium, absolutely. But we know when that schedule release comes out, our fans of the other 31 clubs are looking at ‘When is my club coming to Allegiant?’ We know that is a very special place to be.”
Las Vegas is already full during Super Bowl weekends with people filling sports books, ballrooms and bars up and down the Strip to watch the big game. When you add the actual game, the impact is amplified.
“Simply put, it will be the biggest event in the history of Las Vegas,” said Sean McBurny, regional president of Caesars Entertainment. “When you look at the demand of any Super Bowl when we’re not hosting, we’re 100 percent occupancy from people that are coming from around the country that want to be in Las Vegas to consume the Super Bowl. When you actually get the game here, what we’re seeing is demand that is off the charts. It’s demand that we’ve never seen before.”
Caesars Entertainment is in the middle of renovating multiple properties it operates on the Strip and adding restaurants that will be ready before the Super Bowl is played on Feb. 11, McBurney said.
A nonhosting Super Bowl weekend draws about $500 million, according to Jeremy Aguero, principal analyst with Applied Analysis. On top of the $600 million to $700 million those who attend the Super Bowl will spend, the weekend will generate more than $1 billion for the city.
“The tax revenue that’s generated goes into services throughout the community and throughout the state because of this event,” Hill said. “
Las Vegas is expected to have 330,000 people in town for Super Bowl weekend, which is considered full, Hill said.
“Sixty-thousand of them are going to get to go to the game. But the other 270,00 will get to enjoy the event and being around all the activitations here in this fantastic city,” Hill said.
Super Bowl tickets aren’t offered via Ticketmaster like regular-season games. Instead they are only available through the NFL’s hospitality partner, On Demand. Those tickets are partnered with hospitality options and start at around $6,000.
Since most Southern Nevada residents won’t be able to obtain Super Bowl tickets, the NFL wants to allow for locals to still be able to enjoy the experience. That is via Super Bowl Opening Night at Allegiant Stadium and the NFL Experience at Mandalay Bay. Ewell estimates about 20,000 fans will attend Super Bowl Opening Night.
“That’s Monday night (of Super Bowl week) at Allegiant Stadium, with the two participating teams in full, with head coach, with ownership and it’s a $30 ticket to go into Allegiant Stadium to watch this media frenzy,” Ewell said. “That’s an amazing, accessible fan event for people that live in the region or are visiting.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
