This might not make the blog when Paul's in charge because he has higher standards, I mean he's not an obsessive-compulsive poster, I mean this might be "summer fluff," but the Typing Monkey is in charge today, so:

The Las Vegas Sun's Ray Brewer, Tovin Lapan and Joe Schoenmann offer a from-Las Vegas perspective as to why Sin City's soon-to-be status as possessing a 20,000-seat, Anschutz Entertainment Group-ran multi-sport facility may not necessarily bring a professional sports team to Las Vegas.

Instead of focusing upon the endless rumors about NBA or NHL teams either relocating to Vegas or sprouting in Nevada as expansion teams, Brewer, Lapan and Schoenmann mostly discuss the pluses and minuses of Major League Soccer expanding to the city, and they offer a succicnt list as to why a city with only 1.9 million metropolitan area residents isn't necessarily a natural fit for a pro sports team:

• Gambling. Professional sports leagues traditionally have shied away from Las Vegas because of our sports books. The NFL has long snubbed its nose at our city for fear of fixed games, athletes gambling and fuzzy betting lines. Even if no actual funny business took place, the policing and PR needed to win over skeptics could get expensive.

• Entertainment. Las Vegas is the Entertainment Capital of the World. There are dozens of shows, concerts and events to choose from any night of the year. Would people opt out of those in favor of a catching a game?

• Population. We’re a big city, and a growing city, but we still are puny compared with most sports television markets. And TV contracts are what make franchises big money.

• Scheduling. Ours is a 24-hour city with a huge number of hospitality workers, many of whom work nontraditional schedules. Since locals would make up the bulk of a team’s fan base, owners have worried potential fans would be tied up working and unable to attend games.

The gents continue, and their article's a very good read.