Lisa Motley: Bringing the World’s Biggest Sports Events to Las Vegas

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Lisa Motley has worked in the Las Vegas events and tourism industry for more than 20 years. She has held various roles in her six-plus years at Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As senior director of sports and special events, Motley works tirelessly to bring all sizes of sporting events to Las Vegas. She was instrumental in organizing the 2022 NFL Draft, and has held a large role in securing some of the biggest sporting events in the world for Sin City. This November, Las Vegas will host Formula 1 for the first time, and then three months later will welcome Super Bowl LVIII to Allegiant Stadium.

In this conversation with SportsTravel Associate Editor Justin Shaw, we talk with Motley about what it takes to bring these massive events to Las Vegas, and what to expect from the city as a host. We also discuss all of the college basketball action in Las Vegas, including this year’s NCAA Men’s West Regional Final and the 2028 Men’s Final Four. Motley also divulges the one event that she still wants to check off her sports bucket list.

Among the topics discussed in this episode:

• All of the college basketball tournament action taking place in Las Vegas (2:15)
• The Final Four Coming to Las Vegas for the first time in 2028 (3:40)
• Formula 1 coming to Las Vegas in November 2023 (7:10)
• What does Las Vegas offer tourists besides what’s on the famous Las Vegas Strip (12:00)
• From a planner’s standpoint, the mix of excitement and nervousness (16:30)
• What fans can expect from a hospitality standpoint (19:20)
• The unique party scene in Las Vegas around sporting events (21:50)
• The role the hotels play in hosting large events and winning bids for those events (23:15)
• How Las Vegas takes advantage of all of its infrastructure to host multiple events (25:30)
• The sporting event on Lisa’s bucket list (27:55)

This episode is sponsored by: