LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The dust has settled in the desert after the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 win over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, the first of its kind played in Las Vegas. The Valley took center stage in the football world through Super Bowl week, bringing in thousands of visitors and drawing millions of viewers, and by many accounts providing a record-breaking success.
Many expect "The Big Game" to eventually return to Las Vegas. The earliest it can would be for Super Bowl LXII in 2028. The next three Super Bowl host cities have been announced: New Orleans, Santa Clara, and Los Angeles, in order.
At Monday's Super Bowl hand-off press conference, Nevada governor Joe Lombardo jokingly told NFL commissioner Roger Goodell that Las Vegas' first-ever Super Bowl went so well that the game should return to the Strip as early as next year.
"I will take this opportunity in Governor discretion to ask the commissioner to forgo their rotation plans of the Super Bowl and maybe them here sooner than later," Lombardo said.
Put under the global microscope, the "Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World" proved to be just that for The Big Game. The Strip radiating the night sky in a purple glow, Caesars Palace and the Sphere providing unmatched visuals, from sprawling fan events to a lavish award show, the week was capped off by an all-time classic Super Bowl and the most watched telecast in history.
The LVCVA, the group that organizes big events in Las Vegas, met Tuesday morning to reflect on a historic stretch for the city.
"The Las Vegas brand has never shone brighter," LVCVA president Steve Hill told the media. "We only had one opportunity to get the first Super Bowl right and this city came together to get that done. That matters. It sends a message across the sports world, across the globe, Las Vegas can do anything and do it better than any place else. Really proud of this city and what it accomplished."
Nobody does a show like Vegas and its first Super Bowl week was a spectacle. The head of the LVCVA says that besides some congested traffic when two events happened in the same area, the week couldn't have gone smoother.
"It was really a pretty flawless week," Hill said. "Properties did a fantastic job, the NFL really knows what they're doing. It's obviously the 58th time they've done it and they're pros at it."
Hill says that the city wants to be back in the rotation as a Super Bowl host ASAP and that pairing Vegas with America's biggest game can end up in a perfect marriage for numerous Super Bowls in future years.
"That partnership between everybody in Las Vegas that's great at putting on events and the NFL, who is great at putting on Super Bowls, really should," Hill said.
With the Oakland A's move to Las Vegas made official and the city working to bring in other major sporting events, in the aftermath of Super Bowl LVIII, a reputation as a sports mecca is cementing.
"Las Vegas is the sports and entertainment capital of the world right now and we know that because it's not us saying that, it's others saying that about us," Hill said. "Every place is chasing Las Vegas right now and we should take a minute to enjoy that. It really is an accomplishment for this city."
While excitement is still in the air about Las Vegas one day again becoming a premier Super Bowl destination. The city will soon direct its attention to making its second go-around hosting the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix this November even better than the first.
