Formula 1 racecars ripped along the iconic Las Vegas Strip this past Sunday, serving as another highly visible reminder of a significant shift in the city’s economy.

In under a decade’s time, the desert city long known for its casinos, food and live entertainment has become the home to four major league sports teams, six minor league teams, a major sports organization in the Ultimate Fighting Champion, and four large sports venues playing host to events such as NCAA tournament games, NFL Pro Bowls, and, in the coming February, Super Bowl LVIII.

At least a half-dozen more venues are in the planning stages, and the city appears poised to be one of the top picks for an NBA expansion team and an MLS team, as well.

“Ten years ago, leagues didn’t even want to look at us twice,” said Andrew Woods, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). “Now it feels like we’re the belle of the ball.”

The initial economic impact estimates for Sunday’s Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix and the February 2024 Super Bowl were US$1.3 billion, and US$500 million, respectively..

That total would match the estimated US$1.8 billion contributed to the metro area by all sporting events from July 2021 to June 2022, according to an economic impact study released this summer by the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNLV’s Lee Business School.

With bigger events, however, come bigger challenges. Construction and preparation for the F1 race gnarled traffic, agitating locals in the process. Also drawing the ire of longtime residents and visitors are the exorbitant prices and the potentially blocked views of everything from the Bellagio fountains to the Mirage volcano, due to the temporary grandstand and signage.

“There are questions about do we have adequate infrastructure that can handle bigger and bigger events,” Woods said. “How do we make this beneficial for both a community that could soon have 3 million residents and have 50 million visitors a year and make that work for everyone?”

Sports have been deeply engrained in Las Vegas for decades, going back to the boxing heyday of the 1950s and 1960s and the rise of sports betting. Super Bowl Sundays and March Madness tournaments typically bring packed casinos and sportsbooks. But for many decades, the NFL and other leagues opposed having sport franchises in Las Vegas, most likely due to the city’s deeply rooted gambling industry.

By 2017, the sentiment had started to shift — including among league commissioners like the NFL’s Roger Goodell — as the National Hockey League as well as the Oakland Raiders had plans to set up shop there.

“I think society in general has a bit of a change with respect to gambling in general,” Goodell said during a March 2017 press conference. “Vegas is not the same city it was 10 or 20 years ago. It is a much more diverse city; it has become an entertainment mecca.”

He added: “They made a very compelling proposal, which the ownership obviously approved overwhelmingly.”

Then came the 2018 ruling from the Supreme Court striking down a federal law that prohibited commercial sports betting in most states.

As sports betting exploded into people’s living rooms, Vegas remained at the center of that digital industry — being home to the casino operators that backed those sportsbooks and online gambling companies such as FanDuel. The rise of sports betting and continued explosion in fantasy football created additional interest in sports and in Vegas, said Steve Hill, chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn

相关词汇

【引起愤怒】

yǐnqǐ fènnù

draw the ire of

make angry

【体育博彩】

tǐyù bócǎi

sportsbook

an establishment that takes bets on sporting events and pays out winnings

刚刚过去的周日，一级方程式赛车在拉斯维加斯大道上疾驰，再次提醒人们这座城市的经济图景正经历巨变。

在不到十年的时间里，这座长期以赌场、美食和现场娱乐而闻名的沙漠之城已坐拥四支大联盟球队、六支小联盟球队、终极格斗冠军赛这一顶级赛事组织以及四座大型体育馆，承办过美国大学生篮球联赛、NFL职业碗，明年2月还将迎来第58届超级碗赛事。

至少还有六七个场馆正在筹建，拉斯维加斯似乎也将成为NBA新增球队和MLS球队的首选地之一。

内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校（UNLV）商业与经济研究中心主任安德鲁•伍兹说：“十年前，各联盟甚至都不想多看我们一眼。现在，我们忽然成了最靓的仔。”

据初步估算，周日的一级方程式拉斯维加斯大奖赛和明年2月的超级碗带来的经济增量分别为13亿美元和5亿美元。

UNLV李商学院商业与经济研究中心今夏发布的一项研究报告称，这两项赛事预计带来18亿美元的收入，相当于2021年7月至2022年6月期间所有体育赛事对该大都会地区贡献的收入。

然而，大型赛事也带来了更大挑战。F1赛事的基建施工和筹备工作导致交通堵塞，惹恼了当地居民。

此外，赛事推高了物价，临时看台和标识牌遮挡了视线，妨碍人们欣赏贝拉吉奥喷泉、火山喷发秀这些美景，也让居民和游客不满。

伍兹说：“是否有足够的基础设施来举办越来越多的大型活动，这是个问题。怎样才能让这个常住人口即将达到300万、每年接待5000万游客的社区从中受益，让大家都满意？”

体育在拉斯维加斯有数十年的悠久传统，可以追溯到 20世纪五、六十年代的拳击鼎盛时期和体育博彩兴盛之初。超级碗星期天和疯狂三月赛事期间，赌场和体彩公司门庭若市。

几十年来，美国橄榄球联盟（NFL）等赛事联盟一直反对拉斯维加斯的球队加盟，很可能是因为博彩业在该市根深蒂固。

直到 2017 年，包括NFL的罗杰•古德尔在内，各联盟委员态度开始转变，因为拉斯维加斯将加入全国冰球联盟；橄榄球联盟的奥克兰突袭者队也计划搬到拉斯维加斯。

古德尔2017年3月在新闻发布会上说：“我认为整个社会对博彩的态度发生了一些变化。拉斯维加斯现在和10年、20 年前已经大不一样了。这是一个更加多元化的城市，已然成为娱乐圣地。”

他补充说：“拉斯维加斯开出了让人无法拒绝的条件，管理层以压倒性多数票通过，接受了他们。”

随后，美国最高法院2018年做出裁决，不再禁止大多数州的体育博彩生意。随着网络博彩的普及，体彩进入千家万户，而拉斯维加斯仍是这一产业的中心，它是众多体育博彩公司和在线博彩公司（如FanDuel）的所在地。拉斯维加斯会展和旅游局首席执行官史蒂夫•希尔说，体彩的兴起和梦幻足球游戏的持续火爆，让人们对体育和拉斯维加斯愈来愈感兴趣。

(Translated by Debra)