Las Vegas Will Host 2027 College Football Title Game
The 2027 College Football Playoff (CFP) championship game is set to take place at Allegiant Stadium, marking another major sports event on the Las Vegas schedule.
News emerged Tuesday stating that the US casino center will hold the game on January 25, 2027. The inaugural CFP title game using the new 12-team format took place Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where Ohio State defeated Notre Dame, 34-23. The game next year will take place in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium, a location named after the Seminole Tribe's casinos.
Word of Las Vegas securing the CFP title game surfaced just more than a week following the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) approving a plan to allocate $40 million to hold the game. That total encompasses a $25 million pledge and $15 million set aside for contingencies.
Allegiant Stadium hosts the NFL’s Raiders and UNLV football, and together with SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles — which has also previously hosted a CFP championship game — it stands as one of the latest football venues in the US. They both started in 2020.
CFP Championship Game Contributes to Las Vegas Sports Heritage
The 2027 CFP championship game contributes to Las Vegas's emerging, albeit expanding, history of holding premier sporting events. Las Vegas is nearly a year past hosting the Super Bowl and is now a consistent location on the F1 circuit, as well as being the venue for two NASCAR races, one of which is a playoff event, among various other sporting events.
Securing the CFP title game also aligns with LVCVA’s goal for the city to regularly host a major sporting event during the first half of the year, similar to the Super Bowl held last year. WrestleMania is set to take place at Allegiant in April, and the Raiders stadium is scheduled to hold the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2028.
A steady schedule of attention-catching events, whether concerts or sports activities, is crucial for the profitability of Allegiant and similar venues. In its brief existence, the stadium has already ticked that box while demonstrating its appeal as a significant attraction for concerts and Raiders games.
Last year, Derek Stevens, the founder and CEO of Circa, stated that Las Vegas ought to be a permanent venue for a first-round CFP game. These matches take place at the home field of the team with the higher seed.
Economic Effect
It’s projected that the Ohio State/Notre Dame game generated an economic impact of $75 million for Atlanta, but that amount might be significantly greater in Las Vegas in 2027 because of the city's entertainment and gaming options.
When it comes to sporting events, surpassing the economic advantages of holding a Super Bowl is almost unfeasible, yet Las Vegas is expected to gain from the 2027 CFP title game, as it presents a chance for hotels to increase prices and attract customers to casinos and eateries.
Securing a high-profile matchup akin to this year's game would undoubtedly bring substantial economic benefits to Las Vegas in 2027.
