The Women's National Basketball Association reportedly declared Tuesday that MGM Resorts International has acquired the San Antonio Stars and will relocate the franchise to Las Vegas, a nationally renowned major resort city recognized mainly for its entertainment and gambling. The Stars will begin to play home games at Mandalay Bay Events Center in the 2018 WNBA season.
"We are thrilled to bring the first major professional basketball team to Las Vegas," WNBA President Lisa Borders said in a statement. "This city and MGM Resorts are synonymous with world-class entertainment.
With its culture of diversity and inclusion, MGM Resorts is an ideal fit for the WNBA."
Bill Laimbeer, a former head coach and general manager of the New York Liberty, will take over as the president of basketball operations and coach of the Stars. Throughout his coaching career with the Detroit Shocks and Liberty, Laimbeer earned two WNBA Coach of the Year awards and won three WNBA championships.
MGM, a global leader in the entertainment and hospitality industry, is not the first company that acquired a WNBA team. The Mohegan Sun, one of the largest casinos in the United States, purchased a WNBA franchise to become an owner of the Connecticut Suns.
WNBA joins NHL and NFL in Vegas
Before Stars' relocation to San Antonio in 2003, the franchise was previously placed in Salt Lake City throughout the WNBA's inaugural season, which lasted from 1997 to 2002.
Before the WNBA team moved to Las Vegas, the National Hockey League became the first of the four major professional sports leagues to launch the 2016 expansion Golden Knights in Las Vegas. This month, the Knights' home games are being held at T-Mobile Arena, which is co-owned by MGM and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG).
In March 2017, National Football League owners voted in approval of the Oakland Raiders' proposal to move the franchise to Las Vegas, where the team will be playing at the under-construction Las Vegas Stadium by the 2020 NFL season.
Entertainment companies looking sports to drive Las Vegas economy
As the business of tourism, gaming, retail, and restaurant is driving economic growth of Las Vegas, entertainment and hospitality companies seek to attract visitors and increase revenue through sporting events. Sports leagues seem to embrace Las Vegas slowly, as the city continues to legalize sports betting under the federal regulation.
Las Vegas has been advertised as The Entertainment Capital of the World. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, the city makes the list of one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. Additionally, MGM discovered that more than 43 million people visit Las Vegas per year.
