LVCVA’s $1.2 Million Payment To All 12 Las Vegas Aces Players Did Not Require Board Approval; LVCVA Says Money Was In Govt Tourism Agency’s Marketing Budget
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
The LVCVA government tourism agency spends millions of dollars on sports sponsorships every year.
For example, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board last week approved $5 million for WrestleMania in 2025 and another $1.2 million for the NBA Summer League in July for 2024 and 2025.
But the $1.2 million in sponsorship money doled out to the 12 Las Vegas Aces players in $100,000 payments was not approved by the LVCVA board.
The LVCVA says the money did not have to be approved.
Apparently it was already in the government agency’s annual budget.
“This effort was within the already-approved marketing budget, so no action was required,” LVCVA spokesperson Erica Johnson wrote to LVSportsBiz.com Tuesday.
The LVCVA is happy with the attention.
“This effort has already been one of our most successful marketing moments in recent memory. In just 48 hours we had 2 million views of the video on our X channel (@vegas) and 1 billion earned media impressions, and Vegas is part of a national conversation,” the LVCVA said.
Aces players like A’ja Wilson and Sydney Colson did not appreciate the WNBA’s investigation into whether the $1.2 million in sponsorship payments circumvents the league’s salary cap. For half of the Aces players, the $100,000 payments are more than their annual salaries. First-year players make about $75,000 for the 40-game season. The WNBA salary cap is a little less than $1.5 million — less than $300,000 than what the LVCVA is paying in the dozen sponsorships.
In a prepared statement, LVCVA head Steve Hill said the payments are legal.
“The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority made a sponsorship offer to each Las Vegas Aces player through her agent, in accordance with the rules of any sponsorship these athletes might accept, and consistent with our own long-standing sponsorship programs. We are proud to support the Las Vegas Aces, and to have them ‘just play and rep Vegas’ as ambassadors for the sports and entertainment capital of the world.”
The LVCVA said, “Our sponsorship offer to the Las Vegas Aces is no different than any other LVCVA marketing program. There are deliverables for each player, including image use, appearances and other ways of representing the Vegas brand.”
