“Amazing venues and boundless energy”
Las Vegas has gotten another big sports win, as the College Football Playoff (CFP) announced that Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders and the UNLV Rebels, will host the College Football Playoff national championship game on January 25, 2027.
The city becomes the third in the Pacific time zone to host the CFP championship, joining the San Francisco Bay area in 2019 and Los Angeles in 2023. Atlanta just hosted the title game earlier this week – congratulations go out to the Ohio State Buckeyes – and Miami is slated as next year’s venue.
I can’t think of a better stage to crown the best team in college football in 2027.”
“Las Vegas has shown the world they have amazing venues and boundless energy to host an event like the College Football Playoff National Championship in spectacular fashion,” said College Football Playoff Executive Director Rich Clark in Friday’s announcement. “I can’t think of a better stage to crown the best team in college football in 2027.”
Booming sports town
Las Vegas used to be sports Siberia in the United States, as professional leagues and the NCAA shied away from it because of the specter of sports betting. Aside from local college teams and the NBA’s summer league, there wasn’t much going on. But things changed when the US Supreme Court struck down PASPA, states began legalizing sports betting, and leagues and teams partnered with sports betting operators.
The city’s major professional sports renaissance actually began a year earlier in 2017, when the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights kicked off their inaugural season as an expansion team. The following year, the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars moved to Las Vegas and began play as the Aces. Both teams have won championships in Sin City.
The NFL’s Raiders moved from Oakland to Las Vegas for the start of the 2020 season. And MLB’s A’s are also moving from Oakland to Las Vegas, but will play in Sacramento for at least three years while their new stadium is being built on the site of the former Tropicana on the Strip.
Allegiant Stadium has also hosted and will host major national sporting events as Las Vegas continues to grow as a US sports hotbed. Super Bowl LVIII was held at the venue in 2024, as were three matches during the 2024 Copa América. WWE Wrestlemania 41 will be at Allegiant Stadium this year and the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four will be there in 2028.