LAS VEGAS – The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced Friday that they will sponsor each member of the Las Vegas Aces to the tune of $100,000 for the 2024-25 season.
The move comes after the Aces won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. In their 2022 season, the Aces finished 1st in the Western conference with a 26-10 record. In 2023, the Aces remained 1st in the West while improving their record to 34-6.
The last team to win back-to-back titles were the Los Angeles Sparks in 2001 and 2002. The Sparks team was led by Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, who finished her 12 season career as an eight time all star.
Leslie and the Sparks swept the Charlotte Sparks, led by University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley in 2001.
In 2002, Leslie and the Sparks swept the New York Liberty team that featured current Aces coach: Becky Hammon.
In 2022, The University of Nevada – Las Vegas conducted a study that found that sporting events, including the championship Aces, in Las Vegas generated 1.845 Billion in revenue from visiting spectators alone.
Oct. 1, the Aces announced they had sold out of individual tickets for games 1, 2 and 5 of the 2023 WNBA finals. The games were played in the 12,000 person Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas.
In the video announcement, the LVCVA representatives met with the Aces and laid out the simple terms of the offer.
“We want you to just play. We want you to keep repping Las Vegas, and if you do a three-peat, that’ll be icing on the cake.”
Amara Bullard is a Marketing + Media student at Loyola University in Chicago aspiring to work in basketball operations.
