The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), the public agency that promotes tourism in the city, is asking its board to approve a $2 million sponsorship deal to bring two esports tournaments to Las Vegas in 2028. The deal is with BLAST ApS, a company that owns the rights to esports competitions, runs leagues, and produces events.
As per the official document, the board is scheduled to vote on the proposal at its regular meeting on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The document also mentions that the money would pay for BLAST to hold two events in the city.
The first event is the Counter-Strike Major. The LVCVA plans for it to take place in 2028 on the weekend between Thanksgiving and the National Finals Rodeo, a stretch the agency describes as a period when the city needs more visitors. To give a sense of what the event could draw, the documents point to the most recent Counter-Strike Major held in the United States, in Austin, Texas. That event sold more than 45,000 tickets, and 80 percent of ticket holders travelled from outside the state.
The second event is a summer esports competition that BLAST would hold at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The documents do not give a date or further details about it beyond the season and the venue. Together, the two tournaments are estimated to generate 130,000 hotel room nights. LVCVA uses this figure to measure how much lodging demand an event creates.
If the board approves the request, the LVCVA’s CEO and President, Steve Hill, would be authorised to sign the agreement. The full $2 million would come out of the agency’s fiscal year 2028 budget.
In return for the $2 million, the LVCVA says it would receive host city designation and rights for both tournaments. It would also get digital, broadcast, and destination marketing assets that it says would show Las Vegas to an international audience, along with hospitality and ticket allocations. The documents do not specify how many tickets or what kind of hospitality would be included.
The proposal is one of several sponsorship and spending items on the board’s agenda. Another asks the board to approve $300,000 for a series of youth baseball tournaments in the summer of 2027. Because the BLAST item is listed as “for possible action,” the board can vote to approve it, change it, or delay it. The agenda also notes that the board may take items out of order or remove them from discussion at any time. The meeting is open to the public, and people can comment on agenda items before the board takes them up.
Las Vegas is not the only place where public authorities are backing BLAST events. In October, Hong Kong granted M Mark status to BLAST Premier Rivals 2026, a label the Hong Kong government gives to large events it wants to support. A month earlier, in September, BLAST signed a partnership with the Mongolian Esports Association to put on a $1.25M CS2 tournament in Mongolia
