The Las Vegas Bowl soon could become a thing of the past.
Low attendance, star players skipping because the bowl has lost meaning as the College Football Playoff has grown and the date of the game around the Christmas holidays are big factors that could see it come to an end at some point, according to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO and president Steve Hill.
“I think that’s a possibility (that the bowl game could stop being held),” Hill told the Review-Journal on Tuesday. “It’s not all our decision. We’ve been a supporter of this game for a long time. It’s ESPN’s game, and it’s their decision to make.”
There is a chance, depending on how the CFP setup evolves to a possible 16 to 24 teams — that the Las Vegas Bowl could become a rotational event. The next CFP title game is at Allegiant Stadium on Jan. 25.
“You’re going to see a rotation of events, whether it ends up applying to this game or not,” Hill said. “There are going to be things that we see better opportunities elsewhere, at least for the sponsorship dollars or the support dollars that we put into these events. Oftentimes I think that’s determinative, but it’s largely connected to the performance of the event itself. And so, if those events are doing really well, then they probably stay and the sponsorship dollars probably stay with them. Others maybe have seen their peak and have declined from that. We’ll see that in some of our events over the next few months. So yeah, very few things are forever.”
If it were shuttered, the game would follow in the footsteps of the L.A. Bowl, which ceased operations after five years at Sofi Stadium, home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers.
New one-year deal
The LVCVA approved a one-year, $1.5 million sponsorship of this year’s Las Vegas Bowl, which will be the 35th edition of the game, scheduled to take place on New Year’s Eve at Allegiant Stadium. The bowl will feature a team from the SEC playing an opponent from either the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC or Pac-12.
The one-year deal is of significance, as the LVCVA has previously done multiyear sponsorship deals and for slightly larger sums than the $1.5 million allocated this year. In 2021, the LVCVA board approved a five-year deal that expired with last year’s game, for between $1.6 million and $1.8 million annually.
ESPN Events didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on the future of the bowl.
Having just the one-year deal in place will allow for a decision to be made on the value of the sponsorship to the LVCVA.
“Our decision is how much value we see in the sponsorship of the game,” Hill said. “We’d love to see it continue, and we’d love to see the game strengthen and a part of that is where it fits in the whole structure of college football that has to be decided.”
The LVCVA pays ESPN Events for the sponsorship fee, which provides the tourism agency marketing assets tied to the Las Vegas Bowl. Those assets include opportunities during the week of events leading up to the event and during the nationally televised game on ESPN. The LVCVA also receives a ticket allocation for the agency to host clients during the event.
Low attendance
In the five years the Las Vegas Bowl has been held at Allegiant Stadium, the average attendance is 24,137, well under the 65,000-fan capacity of the $2 billion facility, with an average of 69 percent of those attendees being from out of town, according to Las Vegas Stadium Authority data. Last year’s edition, held on New Year’s Eve, was the highest attended of the five at Allegiant Stadium, with Utah beating Nebraska in front of 34,269 fans.
For reference, the final Las Vegas Bowl held at Sam Boyd Stadium in 2019, before Allegiant Stadium was completed in 2020, saw an estimated crowd of around 21,000 attendees as Washington defeated Boise State 38-7 in the around 35,000-fan capacity facility.The first Las Vegas Bowl took place in 1992 and is the 13th oldest bowl game, according ESPN Events. Between 2001 and 2019 the annual game featured a Mountain West team against a Pac-12 team.
After UNLV moved into Allegiant Stadium for the 2020 season, as part of the joint-use agreement with the Raiders and the stadium authority, Sam Boyd is no longer allowed to be used for games or events. UNLV has since sold the stadium and the land around it to Clark County.
The low fan turnout at Allegiant Stadium partially can be attributed to the game usually being either just before or after Christmas and around New Year’s Eve.
“Where it fits on the calendar, which is a little tougher given that you have to think about the college teams and whether they want to be here over Christmas,” Hill said.
Resolution needed
The LVCVA has expressed the need to Las Vegas Bowl-eligible conferences and ESPN that a resolution surrounding bowl games and the effect that they have on Las Vegas needs to take place in order for the city’s tourism arm to support the game moving forward.
“College football has some big decisions to make around how many teams are going to be in the playoffs,” Hill said during the meeting. “In the meantime, I’ve talked to Fred Sankey, the SEC in particular, and ESPN about this game. It’s meaningful for both of them. It matters to both of them. And so in recognition of that partnership, we have agreed to contribute what is less than what we contributed for our sponsorship in the past.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
