How to read this calendar
Las Vegas has a professional team in the NFL, NHL and WNBA, an MLB team on the way, two NASCAR weekends, a Formula 1 race, a PGA Tour stop, the National Finals Rodeo and more championship fights than any other city. Layered on top are the sports weekends that have nothing to do with a local team, such as the Super Bowl and March Madness, when the city fills with fans watching in sportsbooks. The result is that sports drive hotel prices as much as conventions do.
Below, each season lists what is on, roughly when it falls and what it does to rates. None of the dates are exact; every league and promoter publishes its own schedule, so treat the months as typical and check the official sources. For non-sports events see the events hub, and for weather and pricing month by month see best time to visit.
Autumn (September to November)
- Raiders home games begin in September at Allegiant Stadium; each home weekend lifts south-Strip rates, sharply so against big-fan-base opponents. See the Raiders guide.
- Golden Knights season opens in October; ordinary home games barely move rates.
- UNLV football plays at Allegiant through the autumn.
- Big fight cards cluster around Mexican Independence Day weekend in mid-September; a title fight weekend raises center-Strip rates.
- NASCAR playoff weekend at the speedway in October.
- Shriners Children's Open in October; minimal effect on the Strip.
- Formula 1 in late November is the single biggest price event of the year: rates multiply, minimum stays apply and the Strip is disrupted for weeks. See the F1 guide.
Autumn is otherwise a prime-weather season with strong convention demand, so expect higher weekday rates than summer regardless of sport.
Winter (December to February)
- National Finals Rodeo fills ten nights in early December and raises rates citywide with a country crowd; see the NFR guide.
- Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant in late December.
- Raiders finish the regular season in early January; a late-season home game against a rival can be the priciest of the year.
- Golden Knights continue through winter; games around the holidays coincide with the New Year crowds.
- Super Bowl weekend in early February is the biggest sportsbook weekend of the year, with viewing-party packages sold months ahead and rates up across the Strip; see the Super Bowl guide.
- Big fights sometimes land in December or early in the year.
Outside NFR, the holidays and Super Bowl weekend, January and early February are among the cheapest windows of the year, and the Knights and the sportsbooks are a good excuse to visit then.
Spring (March to May)
- NASCAR spring weekend in early March; north-Strip and Downtown rates rise a little, the whole Strip rises when it overlaps with other events.
- March Madness opening weekend in mid-to-late March is the second-biggest sportsbook weekend of the year; see the March Madness guide. Combined with spring break, mid-March is expensive.
- Golden Knights playoffs from mid-April into May or June when they qualify; ticket prices soar and the center Strip fills on game nights.
- Fight cards around Cinco de Mayo weekend in early May are a fixture.
- Aces season begins in May at Michelob ULTRA Arena.
- NHRA drag racing at the speedway in spring.
- EDC in mid-May is not a sport but occupies the speedway and lifts rates; see the EDC guide.
Spring also brings pool season and the best weather, so rates are high on weekends regardless; midweek is where the value is.
Summer (June to August)
- Aces home games run all summer, the best-value pro ticket in town; see the Aces guide.
- UFC International Fight Week in late June or early July brings a major card, fan events and a busy center Strip.
- NBA Summer League in July fills the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion at UNLV for two weeks and packs the sportsbooks and bars with basketball people; tickets are cheap and the atmosphere is unusual.
- Stadium concerts at Allegiant and arena tours at T-Mobile are heavy in summer.
- Raiders training camp and preseason in August.
- Golf at dawn only; fees are at their lowest.
Summer is the cheapest season for hotel rooms because of the heat, and the sports calendar is the lightest. If a summer game is your goal, this is the season where the room rate will not be the problem.
How a sports weekend moves hotel prices
The pattern is consistent. A single big weekend event, whether a Raiders home game, a title fight or the March Madness opener, lifts rates first at the resorts nearest the venue and then across the Strip as the closest properties fill. Rates rise the moment the schedule is published, rise again as the weekend approaches, and rarely fall in the final week for the largest events; for mid-tier events, last-minute drops do happen. Minimum-stay rules of two or three nights are common for the biggest weekends.
- Biggest effect: Formula 1, Super Bowl weekend, NFR, headline fights, Raiders games against big-fan-base teams.
- Moderate: March Madness, NASCAR March weekend, Knights playoffs, stadium concerts.
- Minimal: ordinary Knights games, Aces games, golf, Summer League.
To visit for a game cheaply, book the room the day the schedule appears, then reprice; to visit cheaply around sports, target the quiet weeks between events. Our hotel-deal guide and budget guide go deeper.
Building a trip around a game
The venues are close enough together that a sports trip can include a lot. A typical autumn weekend might be a Raiders game on Sunday, a Knights game on Saturday night and a sportsbook morning for the early college games; a spring weekend can pair NASCAR with March Madness in the books. Stay near your main venue, use the free trams and walk; do not plan on driving to Allegiant. Check the concert venues guide for what else is playing, and if the Athletics ballpark has opened by the time you read this, our ballpark page will have the game-day details.
