Paul Szydelko
While final visitation and other economic numbers won't be available for another couple of months, 2024 may have been the year Las Vegas entered a new era in its broad appeal to visitors.
With its first Super Bowl, its second Formula 1 Grand Prix and the new entertainment venue Sphere all attracting global recognition, Las Vegas has become even more of a premium destination for sports and entertainment -- far afield from its gambling reputation.
Matt Ferrel, vice president of marketing for online ticketing platform TickPick, said the city has "done a good job of repositioning itself for a more consistent and, really, more lively audience than in previous iterations or previous eras."
Ferrel noted that Las Vegas had previous recent eras in which big-name DJs bolstered massive nightclubs, lauded chefs opened pricey restaurants and Cirque du Soleil dominated stages.
The additions of T-Mobile Arena in 2016 and Allegiant Stadium in 2020 propelled the new era. Fans of opponents of the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights and National Football League's Las Vegas Raiders routinely travel to help consistently fill those venues to capacity. The ongoing relationship with Formula 1, the proposed stadium and move of Major League Baseball's Oakland A's as well as rampant speculation about an NBA club for the city will continue momentum in the sports sector, Ferrel said.
"It's rounding out itself as a multidimensional town. There was always the one thing Vegas did well. [Before] it was the party note, and now you're seeing Vegas turn into a well-rounded ecosystem of entertainment, certainly still first and foremost, but it's starting to turn into a multifaceted town," Ferrel said.
Sphere, which hosted the NHL Draft as well as musical acts U2, the Eagles and Dead & Company, is another venue garnering global attention.
"As a person who recently saw Dead & Company -- and I came from the concert industry and have seen untold numbers of shows -- [Sphere] is unparalleled," Ferrel said. "I wouldn't even consider it a concert venue. It's an entirely unique experience venue.
"Anecdotally, but also from the numbers that we're seeing, It is driving consistent, high volume of attendees, high ticket volume because of its uniqueness and because of the caliber of artists that are interested in playing. ... It's an interesting and unique space. Can that bridge the gap of music, sports and broader entertainment? I think it does support that. It's another feather in [Vegas'] cap."
What makes Vegas different
Tickets for tours that come to Vegas tend to be a little more expensive than other cities, Ferrel said. "It's slightly more expensive, but not by a wide margin," he said. "Because it is a destination location, there's a higher demand or expectation from the pricing of it. When you're talking about an Allegiant or a T-Mobile show, that's probably more comparable, whereas Sphere shows have no comparison. They sort of set their own boundaries."
Ferrel said Las Vegas has a distinct ticket-buying dynamic "because, as a general rule, a lot of the attendees are not, in fact, from Vegas. So the pace at which somebody is buying an event [ticket] is significantly different."
Events in cities such as New York tend to sell out quite quickly. "Vegas, as opposed to other markets, is last-minute buying," Ferrel said. "Oftentimes shows that might look like they're on the verge of underselling very quickly move to sold-out or higher ticket prices in the secondary marketplace because there is that visitor mentality. They transact quite close to the event to make sure that they have something unique to do for themselves that evening."
The use of price-tracking tools on resale sites is the best way for travel advisors and consumers to feel informed and find value for an event, he said.
"What is the available inventory for the event? How many tickets are currently on sale? What's the average price? What's the minimum price? And you can start seeing, like a stock ticker-esque moment, there's a lot of inventory coming online. A lot of people are selling their tickets, so we would expect the price to drop."