A convention fills the hotels around its hall. A major event fills the city. These are the race weekends, championship games, rodeo, and festivals that decide what a room costs and whether a good table is available, whether or not you hold a ticket. This is a rolling twenty-four-month list, from this fall through November 3, 2028, and every date comes from the organizer’s, league’s, or venue’s own site. Here for the dates? Jump to 2026, 2027, or 2028. Trade shows and conferences are on the convention calendar.
How to Use This With the Convention Calendar
Read the two lists together. A trade show that looks like an ordinary week can share its dates with a race or a title game, and that is when rates jump and the dinner you wanted is gone. Three examples from the tables below: RE+ closes at the convention center on the day the Formula 1 weekend begins, in both 2026 and 2027; the National Finals Rodeo opens as re:Invent and MJBizCon finish; and the 2028 NADA Show shares its week with the Big Ten men’s tournament. The convention calendar flags these overlaps row by row.
The reverse also works. If your dates are flexible, the week after a major event is usually the easier week for rooms and reservations.
Still to Come in 2026
Dates are as published by each event’s organizer, league, or venue as of October 2026. Each event name links to the page the date came from. Later events have not all been announced; those are marked. Confirm on the official site before booking anything non-refundable.
| Event | Dates | Where | What It Does to the Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| NHRA Las Vegas Nationals | Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2026 | The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Drag racing at the speedway, north of the city. Ends two days before SEMA and AAPEX open. |
| Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas | Nov 2, 2026 | T-Mobile Arena | College basketball’s opening night, headlined by Arizona and UCLA. The evening before SEMA opens. |
| PBR Teams Championship | Nov 6 – 8, 2026 | T-Mobile Arena | Bull riding, in November this year. Opens the day SEMA closes, so the two crowds overlap for a night. |
| Players Era men’s championships | Nov 17 – 19 and Nov 24 – 28, 2026 | Michelob ULTRA Arena and T-Mobile Arena | College basketball. The 16-team championship runs through Thanksgiving week. |
| Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix | Nov 19 – 21, 2026 (race Saturday, Nov 21) | Las Vegas Strip Circuit | The Strip is the circuit, so road closures shape every trip that week. RE+ closes at the convention center on Nov 19. |
| Wrangler National Finals Rodeo | Dec 3 – 12, 2026 | Thomas & Mack Center | Ten nightly performances. Cowboy Christmas runs the same dates in the convention center’s South Halls. Starts as re:Invent and MJBizCon finish. |
| UFC 335 | Dec 12, 2026 | T-Mobile Arena | The same Saturday as the rodeo’s final performance. |
| Las Vegas Bowl | Dec 31, 2026 | Allegiant Stadium | Moved to New Year’s Eve this year, with an afternoon kickoff. |
| America’s Party: New Year’s Eve | Dec 31, 2026 – Jan 1, 2027 | The Strip and Fremont Street | Midnight fireworks from nine Strip resorts. The Strip has closed to vehicles on past New Year’s Eves; this year’s closure plan is not yet published. |
2027
| Event | Dates | Where | What It Does to the Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Football Playoff National Championship | Jan 25, 2027 | Allegiant Stadium | A Monday night. Las Vegas Market is open downtown that week, and SHOT Show and World of Concrete close the week before. |
| Rock ’n’ Roll Running Series Las Vegas | Feb 20 – 21, 2027 | Las Vegas Strip | A 5K on Saturday, the half marathon and 10K on Sunday. The course is the Strip itself. |
| Rugby League Las Vegas | Feb 27, 2027 | Allegiant Stadium | Professional rugby league returns to the stadium. |
| The Mint 400 | Mar 3 – 7, 2027 (preliminary) | Downtown Las Vegas and Primm | Off-road racing. Vehicle parade on the Strip Mar 3, festival on Fremont Street Mar 4, racing Mar 5 – 6. The organizer labels the schedule preliminary. |
| Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament | Mar 3 – 7, 2027 | T-Mobile Arena | The first of four conference tournaments in eleven days. |
| West Coast Conference Basketball Championships | Mar 5 – 9, 2027 | Orleans Arena | Men’s and women’s tournaments, west of the Strip. |
| Mountain West Basketball Championships | Mar 7 – 13, 2027 (women Mar 7 – 10, men Mar 10 – 13) | Thomas & Mack Center | Overlaps the Big West and the end of the WCC, the fullest basketball week on this list. |
| Big West Basketball Championships | Mar 10 – 13, 2027 | Lee’s Family Forum, Henderson | Men’s and women’s tournaments, in Henderson rather than on the Strip. |
| NASCAR Pennzoil 400 weekend | Mar 19 – 21, 2027 (Cup race Sunday, Mar 21) | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Ends the day before Adobe Summit, Shoptalk, and the Bar & Restaurant Expo begin. |
| NCAA Women’s Basketball Regional | Mar 26 – 29, 2027 | T-Mobile Arena | Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games. |
| EDC Las Vegas | May 14 – 16 and May 21 – 23, 2027 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Two weekends in 2027. The second runs straight into ICSC and Dell Technologies World. |
| Vegas Kickoff Classic: Miami vs. Utah | Sep 4, 2027 | Allegiant Stadium | Labor Day weekend. A second game, North Dakota State vs. Montana State, is set for the same weekend with no date published. Confirm before booking; college schedules for 2027 have been shifting. |
| NASCAR South Point 400 weekend | Oct 8 – 10, 2027 (Cup race Sunday, Oct 10) | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | A Cup Series playoff race. |
| When We Were Young | October 2027, dates not yet published | Las Vegas; venue not yet published | The organizer has announced the festival’s return for October 2027. |
| NHRA Las Vegas Nationals | Oct 28 – 31, 2027 | The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Ends two days before SEMA and AAPEX open. |
| Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas | Nov 12, 2027 | Allegiant Stadium | The first basketball games played in the stadium. The same day the AAO Annual Meeting opens. |
| Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix | Nov 18 – 20, 2027 | Las Vegas Strip Circuit | Begins the day RE+ closes at the convention center. |
| Wrangler National Finals Rodeo | December 2027, dates not yet published | Thomas & Mack Center | Has run for ten days in early December. |
| New Year’s Eve | Dec 31, 2027 | The Strip and Fremont Street | The official program is not yet published. |
2028, Through October
| Event | Dates | Where | What It Does to the Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament | Mar 8 – 12, 2028 | T-Mobile Arena | The same week as the NADA Show. |
| NCAA Men’s Final Four | Apr 1 and Apr 3, 2028 | Allegiant Stadium | Semifinals Saturday, the title game Monday. The first men’s Final Four held in Las Vegas. |
| Vegas Kickoff Classic: BYU vs. Oregon State | 2028 season opener, date not yet published | Allegiant Stadium | Has been played on or near Labor Day weekend. |
Not yet published as of October 2026, with the month each has typically used: the 2028 conference basketball tournaments (early March), the 2028 NASCAR weekends (March and the fall), EDC Las Vegas 2028 (May), the 2028 NHRA Las Vegas Nationals (fall), the World Series of Poker 2027 (late May through mid-July), NBA Summer League 2027 (July), UFC International Fight Week 2027 (summer), and the iHeartRadio Music Festival 2027 (September). The Pac-12 has announced that its 2027 basketball tournaments return to the MGM Grand Garden Arena, but the dates were not on the conference’s own site when I checked. Formula 1 has extended the Las Vegas Grand Prix through 2037; the 2028 race date is not published and has fallen in the second half of November, after this page’s window.
Not in Las Vegas during this window: the Emirates NBA Cup championship (Indianapolis in 2026), the conference tournament formerly run by the WAC (now in Allen, Texas), the PBR World Finals (Arizona in 2027), and Monster Energy Supercross, which has no Las Vegas round in 2027. Sources are each organizer’s, league’s, or venue’s own site, checked October 2026.
Fight Weekends
I list a fight only when the promoter or the venue has published the date and the building. As of October 2026 that is one card: UFC 335 at T-Mobile Arena on December 12, 2026. Nothing is announced for 2027 or 2028 yet. Cinco de Mayo weekend in early May and Mexican Independence Day weekend in mid-September have often carried a major boxing card, and the UFC has held International Fight Week in the summer, but none of those has a published 2027 date, so none is in the table. I add cards as they are announced. The official schedules are at ufc.com and T-Mobile Arena.
Home Games, Concerts, and Residencies
Regular-season games and resident shows change too often to list honestly, so these are links to the official schedules instead. A home game rarely moves hotel rates by itself. A stadium concert can.
- Teams. Las Vegas Raiders, Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Aces, Las Vegas Aviators, and Henderson Silver Knights. The Athletics plan to open their Las Vegas ballpark for the 2028 season; no opening date is published.
- Arenas and stadiums. Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, Sphere, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson.
- Residencies and theaters. The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau, Voltaire at the Venetian, and Resorts World Theatre.
What a Big Weekend Changes
- The room. Rates and minimum stays rise first at the properties nearest the event, then across the Strip. Booking something refundable early costs nothing and keeps the choice open.
- Dinner. The best tables are held weeks ahead for race week, the rodeo, and New Year’s Eve. It is the hardest thing to fix on the day.
- Getting around. Formula 1, the Rock ’n’ Roll run, and New Year’s Eve all close or restrict the Strip itself. Pick the hotel so that the places you need are on your side of the closure.
- The quiet alternative. A golf day or a spa afternoon away from the event is often the best part of a crowded weekend. The ten courses worth planning a trip around and the spas I have used are the places to start.
Get the Events Calendar File, and an Email When Dates Change
The next page gives you every dated event above as a calendar file (.ics) that opens in Outlook, Google Calendar, or Apple Calendar. I also email this list when an organizer publishes a date still marked “not yet published” or moves one. Tell me which weekend you are coming for and what would help, and my reply will be about your trip, not a form letter.
No trip required. Reply “stop” to any email and you are off the list. Privacy policy.
How Vegas VIP Me Helps With an Event Weekend
Vegas VIP Me’s boutique concierge is a paid planning service, and I lead every plan myself. For an event weekend that means the hotel that fits the event and your budget, dinners planned around the schedule, and a golf or spa day if there is room for one. You book and pay each provider directly and keep control of every reservation. Event tickets, flights, and ground transportation are yours to buy; Vegas VIP Me does not sell or arrange them. Scope and pricing are on the concierge page, and the trip form is the place to start.
If you come for the race, the rodeo, and a show or two every year, the hotel bills start to look like a mortgage payment. Vegas VIP Me is a licensed Nevada real estate brokerage first, and I have written out the comparison with the assumptions shown: owning a Strip high-rise versus paying hotel rates. The answer is often “keep booking hotels,” and the page says when.
Common Questions
Do you sell tickets to any of these events?
No. Vegas VIP Me does not sell, resell, or broker tickets. Buy them from the organizer or the venue; each event name in the tables links to an official site.
Are these dates guaranteed?
No. They are the dates each organizer, league, or venue had published as of October 2026, and several later events were still to be announced. This page covers a rolling twenty-four months and I refresh it monthly. The official site is always the final word.
Why is an event I know about missing?
Either its date is not yet on an official site, or it is a regular home game, concert, or residency, which I link rather than list. I do not use ticket resellers, aggregators, or estimates based on prior years.
How is this different from the convention calendar?
The convention calendar covers trade shows and conferences, which fill the hotels near one venue. This page covers the public events that affect the whole city. Many trips are touched by both.
When should I book a hotel for Formula 1 or New Year’s Eve?
As soon as you know you are coming, and refundable if your plans are soft. Check the cancellation terms and any minimum stay before you commit.