The Las Vegas Lights FC introduce their new mascot Cash before fans and the media at the Red Rock Harley-Davidson on Friday, March 23, 2018, in Las Vegas. L.E. Baskow

Lights

New Las Vegas Lights Soccer Club Rolls Out ‘Cash the Soccer Rocker’ Mascot At New Sponsor’s Dealership

March 23, 2018March 23, 2018 Alan Snel Brett Lashbrook, Chelis

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

Las Vegas Lights FC Technical Director Chelis was sporting a big smile.

And that’s all you need to know about the power of a mascot.

Las Vegas’ new pro soccer team, the Lights FC, rolled out its mascot Friday afternoon when the colorful Chelis hopped on a Harley motorcycle at a local Southern Nevada Harley-Davidson dealership with the new team mascot, “Cash the Soccer Rocker,” on board.

The Las Vegas Lights FC introduce their new mascot Cash before fans and the media at the Red Rock Harley-Davidson Friday. Photo credit: L.E. Baskow/Lights

Chelis, the experienced soccer coach from Mexico who now has a new title, Lights FC technical director, had been rather glum at press conferences following three pre-season losses in February. But Friday, he motored with a happy face through the Southern Nevada Harley-Davidson dealership with mascot Cash to also highlight the soccer team’s corporate partnership with Southern Nevada Harley-Davidson Dealers.

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The mascot will be in action Saturday, when the Lights of the United Soccer League make their regular season home debut at Cashman Field for a Nevada rivalry game with Reno 1868 FC. The game starts 8 p.m. The Lights FC and 1868 FC will vie for the Silver State Cup.

“We love Las Vegas, we love Cashman Field and we love embracing all that it represents,” Lights owner Brett Lashbrook said. “Naming the mascot ‘Cash’ after the Cashman Family is the perfect tribute to what they’ve done for the community over the generations and what they’ve done for our new home. We can’t wait for Cash to enter Cashman Field with his cape flying on a Harley-Davidson in front of capacity crowds throughout the season.”

Owner Brett Lashbrook hands over the Cash the mascot. Photo credit: L.E. Baskow/Lights

The Lights won their first USL game last Saturday with a 3-2 victory over Fresno.

Saturday’s game will be not televised by Cox Communications because the cable company will now allow a for-profit soccer team to be broadcast on the city’s KCLV Channel 2 public access channel. So, you can watch the Lights on YouTube, Lashbrook said.

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The Lights have launched its interactive Lights FC app, plus announced a new pregame tradition called the Pink Scarf award to honor those who make a difference in the Las Vegas community. The first Pink Scarf winner is Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who has lobbied for pro soccer in downtown.

The Lights FC app will provide content, including several in-match initiatives. One will be the ability for fans to vote for each game’s Laborers 872 Hardest Working Man of the Match award.

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Alan Snel

Alan Snel brings decades of sports-business reporting experience to LVSportsBiz.com. Snel covered the business side of sports for the South Florida (Fort Lauderdale) Sun-Sentinel, the Tampa Tribune and Las Vegas Review-Journal. As a city hall beat reporter, Snel also covered stadium deals in Denver and Seattle. In 2000, Snel launched a sport-business website for FoxSports.com called FoxSportsBiz.com. After reporting sports-business for the RJ, Snel wrote hard-hitting stories on the Raiders stadium for the Desert Companion magazine in Las Vegas and The Nevada Independent. Snel is also one of the top bicycle advocates in the country.

July 5, 2021

LVSPORTSBIZ.COM, launched June 2017: We are a digital magazine providing market-leading news, intelligence, enterprise and breaking info on Las Vegas’ sports/stadium industry. Our stories are quoted nationally and we set the sportsbiz news agenda in Las Vegas. Publisher Alan Snel has reported on the business of sports and stadiums in Denver, South Florida, Seattle and Tampa besides Las Vegas and is considered a national authority on the topic.

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To contact LVSportsBiz.com Publisher Alan Snel or buy his book, Bicycle Man: Life of Journeys, email him at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com

LVSportsBiz number for 2024: $1,178,161,041. That’s the amount of debt Las Vegas (actually, Clark County) owes for its public share of building the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.