Four days worth of per diem employment.
Viva Las Vegas! Las Vegas was one of four cities that has a domed football stadium that landed an NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Nevada championship tournament is in 2028. For the record Detroit will host the 2027 championship round, Indianapolis gets the 2029 tournament and Jerry Jones’ Arlington, Texas stadium in 2030. Cities and areas bid on tournaments presenting the NCAA with the best financial packages possible. Of course none of the cash, at least in 2022, ends up in the pockets of the stars of the show. The Players. The NCAA has a problem with paying players although some “student-athletes” can sell their names, images and likenesses and pick up some money from that.
Las Vegas for many years was a black hole for sports because of gambling. Sports leagues wanted to be purer than Caesar’s wife and wanted to avoid Las Vegas as a place to hold games although the NBA did allow some Utah Jazz games in Nevada in 1983-84. Las Vegas sees dollars coming in from an event that will last no more than four days and really doesn’t generate all that much cash. “This world class event will continue to bring jobs and boost our economy over March Madness,” said Clark County, Nevada Commissioner Michael Naft. “Not only will fans come to watch the early games but will be able to experience the Final Four in person or at our many premier sports-viewing locations.” Just how many jobs will be created? Probably a few pre-diem opportunities. There generally is a four day fanfest that runs concurrently with the tournament that can create four days’ worth of part time jobs. It is hard to imagine how a four-day event can boost a local economy in any way. But politicians without any real evidence say big events bring in lots of money.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com