The National Football League made an announcement on Monday that will have a negative impact on the economy in Las Vegas. The NFL has decided to cancel all public draft events that were scheduled to take place in Las Vegas.
The NFL is still going to have their annual draft from April 23-25, but it will not be conducted in a public setting like it has been for the last few years. The city of Chicago hosted the NFL Draft in 2015 and 2016, and then Philadelphia, Dallas, and Nashville all got a turn to host.
This is just another major event that is being canceled in Las Vegas, and the list is getting quite big.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention made a statement that all gatherings of more than 50 people should be canceled. The NFL has not yet determined how they will handle the draft in 2020, but it will continue as scheduled.
Commissioner Roger Goodell did give hope to Las Vegas as a possible host of a future NFL Draft or an upcoming Super Bowl. The earliest that Las Vegas could host the Super Bowl would be in the year 2025, as the other dates have already been selected by the league.
The NFL will be coming to the city on a permanent basis starting this season, with the Las Vegas Raiders set to begin play this fall.
Continuing A Trend
This isn’t the first major event in the city of Las Vegas to be canceled, and it certainly won’t be the last. The gaming capital of the United States has lost major conventions, entertainment events, and sporting events over the last few weeks due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Casinos, hotels, and restaurants are also being forced to shut down in an effort to stop the spread, and several reports have said that the city of Las Vegas is starting to resemble that of a ghost town.
Companies and casinos in the city of Las Vegas have been planning and preparing to host the NFL Draft for months, and all of that planning will go for nothing. The NFL had big plans for the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and it would have been a sight to behold.
First-round picks were going to be brought by boat up to the fountains at the Bellagio. Caesars Entertainment was chosen to set up and host the NFL Fan Experience that takes place next to the actual draft. Both Caesars and MGM, which owns the Bellagio, will suffer the biggest economic consequences from this announcement from the NFL.
The Las Vegas Raiders just built a $2 billion stadium that will be named Allegiant Stadium. The economy of Las Vegas has been thriving for decades, but it is taking a huge hit of late, and this news doesn’t help.
City experts were anticipating that there would be over 750,000 visitors to Las Vegas during NFL Draft weekend, and the effects will be felt in many industries in the city. Prices of hotel rooms began skyrocketing when the NFL announced Las Vegas as their next host city, and most of those reservations will now be canceled.
The National Football League does not charge anything for a ticket to enter the draft, with tickets being handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Sportsbooks throughout the city were set to offer live betting in relation to the NFL Draft, but those bets will now come off of the books as well. There is no doubt that Las Vegas will once again bounce back, but it’s been a rough month in Sin City.
