UNLV Sport Research Summit Outlines Innovation Mission, Game Plan Wednesday
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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com Writer
In a market relying so heavily on the growth of sports, this initiative envisions itself as the center of sports sciences, business and innovation in Las Vegas.
The UNLV Sports Innovation Initiative (SII), which calls itself, “The Hub of Innovation in the Global Sports Capital,” took time at a UFC-owned venue Wednesday to hammer home its mission.
At UFC’s Apex facility off the 215 beltway in the southwest valley and before a little more than 200 people, the hub’s leadership team, including Chief Operating Officer Jay Vickers, Director of Sports Management Nancy Lough, and Sports Science Director John Mercer, outlined the game plan at the 2023 Sport Research Summit.
Along with the hub’s leadership, a panel of experts highlighted the growth of sports in Southern Nevada, which has evolved into playground for mega events that now includes this full-grown incubator of sports sciences and business.
Sports have become big business in Las Vegas.
Sold out facilities and arenas offer a variety of events for sports fans on any given night. In a city that has spun itself in circles for decades trying to find ways to diversify a one-trick economy based on tourism/gambling, the emergence of sports has been the closest it has come to actually doing so.
Mercer’s presentation estimated there to be 100 events held in Las Vegas over the next 12 months. UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) forecasts arts, spectator sports, and related sports industries to grow by 12.4 percent or 2,944 permanent jobs by 2030.
The collision of sports culture, tourism, and the growing sports business environment is driving the infrastructure of SII.
Andrew Woods, director of UNLV’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER), peeled back a deck of slides.
A recent tourism report from the LVCVA that cites about “1.8 million visitors are coming to Las Vegas for sports. Within that number, roughly 6 percent of leisure and hospitality spending happening in town is sports related.”
Inevitably, those numbers have gained monetary support for the UNLV-housed initiative.
In February, U.S. Rep. Susie Lee presented a check for $3.25 million to the SII.
During the congresswoman’s appearance at the summit Wednesday, Lee said, “The project funding not only supports the growing sports scene in Vegas but also pushes towards diversifying the economy in Nevada. Something we’ve been trying to do for a long time. The UNLV Sports Innovation Initiative is bringing us closer to that reality in so many ways through research, education, and training a new generation of sports business leaders.”
The federal funding secured by Lee will enable UNLV to purchase a High Performance Computer (HPC) and develop related curriculum development to expand the university’s capacity for advanced sports research and education, from brain health to sports performance and e-sports.
Funding also goes towards three new projects supporting sports data, sports leadership, and sports performance and entrepreneurship. Soon, that will include a sports integrity and betting class.
Lough’s remarks reflected on an internship with the NFL’s Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee facilitated through SII.
Initiated this year, donations from United Way of Southern Nevada, the Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee, and the NFL Foundation support paying interns $25.
“Many of these opportunities will be available in Las Vegas, which is becoming the world’s sports and entertainment capital. These interns are preparing for careers in the sports industry, which is adding jobs at a much faster rate than the overall economy,” Lough told the room of sports business professionals.
Since 2019, SII has focused on topics such as brain health, esports, military and first responder health & performance, PGA golf management, sport & health, sports betting, sport business, sports performance, sport psychology, youth sports and sport technology, and diversity & inclusion in sport. The hub intends to also influence the participation of women in sports from recreation through professional organizations.
“We’re training the next generation of sports scientists and sports business professionals through interdisciplinary education and research,” Vickers told LVSportsBiz.com “Through this initiative, we will produce homegrown talent to populate the ranks of sports in Las Vegas the way UNLV has with the hospitality industry. We’re diversifying the local economy and impacting an entire industry at every level.”
The initiative is currently in the process of applying to become an institute, making it a more permanent and formal part of the campus.
