EDITORIAL: From business to basketball, things are bouncing Las Vegas’ way

There are 10 billion and one reasons to be optimistic about Las Vegas’ most important industry.

U.S. News &World Report recently unveiled a list of the 30 best cities for conferences. It considered 52 locations and put Las Vegas on the top of its list. It looked at factors such as meeting and event space, the desirability of the destination, and affordability. Chicago, Orlando, Florida, and Phoenix finished behind Las Vegas.

In 2025, Las Vegas convention attendance topped 6 million. In the first four months of 2026, Las Vegas had more than 2.5 million people attend a convention. That’s a 10.1 percent increase compared with last year. Las Vegas isn’t just attracting tourists for vacation or a weekend getaway. Business travel is a strength, too.

In March, the NBA announced that it is considering adding franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. Several would-be ownership groups have been working diligently to position themselves to own the local franchise. Late last month, Golden Knights owner Bill Foley formally rolled out his effort. He’s looking to assemble an ownership group and has hired a financial adviser and legal counsel. If successful, he has said that he would make $300 million in renovations to T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights play.

NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson is leading a competing group called the MAGI. Mr. Johnson has met with Gov. Joe Lombardo in connection with owning the team. Another NBA superstar, Shaquille O’Neal, seems interested in joining a potential bid. There’s even talk that Michael Jordan, the six-time NBA champion, may be interested. Another potential ownership group may include former Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and billionaire Joshua Kushner.

Others are working on potential arena sites. On June 29, a group that includes Chetak Development Inc. announced that it has the land it needs to build an NBA-ready facility, called the Las Vegas Diamond Arena. That arena would be across from the Mandalay Bay, but there are sites up and down the Strip where a new arena could be built.

Investments made by government bureaucrats generally aren’t trustworthy. It’s easy to spend someone else’s money. But when someone is investing their own money, you have much more reason to be confident in their decision.

While the expansion fee hasn’t been set, it could be $10 billion. An ownership group wouldn’t spend that much money to own a team in Las Vegas if they weren’t confident in the location.

Tourism can ebb and flow, but investment patters indicate that Las Vegas’ long-term outlook looks like a slam dunk.