Las Vegas jumps through sponsorship hoops to attract NBA Cup and reports growing air links

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Board of Directors meeting, 8 August, heard that the first National Basketball Association Cup will debut in Las Vegas in early December at T-Mobile Arena. The bid was clinched, the Board said, due to its $2.25m sponsorship support agreement. The new annual competition will begin in November with all 30 NBA teams competing and will culminate with Las Vegas hosting the semifinals on 7 December and the championship game on 9 December. NBA will also programme fan events throughout the long event weekend, an event that is anticipated to attract more than 26,000 out-of-town visitors and to drive an estimated economic impact of $53m. It will be broadcast nationally. The LVCVA Board meeting also heard news of growing air service with emerging markets. Ailevon Pacific Aviation Consulting (APAC) presented an airline development update to the Board, which outlined the various ways air service development hit new highs during fiscal year 2023. The report claimed record capacity arriving in Las Vegas with 34.1m seats and record number of cities connected to Las Vegas with 161 non-stop routes (37 of them new ones). APAC added that there was now a record number of airlines serving Las Vegas with 35 airlines, including five of them new. Of the 25 largest airports in the US, Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport had the most capacity growth, according to. APAC, withe 17% growth – the fastest in the world. Next month is expected to see a new all-time high for monthly inbound capacity and 2023 is expected to hit a new annual record. International capacity, which is approximately 80% recovered, is expected to be over 90% recovered by the end of the year, according to APAC. The Board of Directors also approved a $386,000 investment for LVCVA’s participation in Routes World 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey in October. During this premiere trade show, key decision makers from airlines, airports and destinations unite to determine the world’s air service. More information: www.lvcva.com, www.visitlasvegas.com