Is a NBA team in Las Vegas a good idea?

There are some rumors, and some actual stories out there that a NBA team will be moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. Of cure the stipulation would be for the public there to fund construction of a new arena for the team, and that may never happen. More than that though I have to ask if a NBA franchise in Las Vegas is a good idea. Professional sports teams in Las Vegas are scarce, but not unheard of. I really wonder if there is a market there for a NBA team, and if a team would be bale to sustain itself while there?

Of course the NBA summer league takes place there, so there are obviously NBA fans there. The metro area of Las Vegas has more than 1.8 million people living there. That is over a half million more residents than Jacksonville, Florida which has trouble sustaining a NFL franchise. Since it takes less attendance to make a NBA franchise viable there seems to be enough fans there to support a NBA team.

The main problem I think would be convincing people to buy walk up tickets, or season tickets in general. Sports teams tend not to do so well in places where there a numerous other entertainment options. Las Vegas is a city built upon the entertainment industry and there is already so much to do there, that I have yet to see everything there. Later this summer I will be making my fourth trip to Vegas, and I doubt that I have seen a quarter of what that city has to offer.

Beyond that I don’t want to fly to Vegas to see a NBA game, of course I don’t go see NBA games right here in Detroit, Michigan. I don’t think this one will work. If it looked like it was going to work one of the leagues would have already put a team there.