Las Vegas just got another sports team

(Image credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The San Antonio Stars are headed to Las Vegas, thanks to MGM Resorts. The hospitality company purchased the WNBA team, which will play home games at the Mandalay Bay Events Center beginning in May 2018, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

"Mandalay Bay is a smaller, more intimate arena with about 12,000 seats," said the chief experience and marketing officer for MGM Resorts, Lilian Tomovich. "We feel it's the absolute right size arena for the fans to have that intimate experience to come watch basketball."

While the Stars have had the league's worst record the last three seasons, Tomovich added that MGM is "very optimistic about the success of this franchise."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

"Bringing a WNBA team here to Las Vegas just seemed like a natural evolution for us," she said.

Las Vegas acquired its first pro team this year with the addition of the NHL's Golden Knights. The Oakland Raiders NFL team will be relocated to the city in 2020. There are no major league women's teams in the city.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.