8NewsNow sports anchor/reporter
This week on “Talk About Las Vegas With Ira,” Ira sits down with Ron Futrell, 8NewsNow sports anchor and reporter, for a wide-ranging, no-spin conversation about one of the biggest years in Las Vegas sports history.
From Major League Baseball officially coming to Las Vegas, Ron breaks down why locals were skeptical, what went wrong in Oakland under owner John Fisher, and why Vegas operates with a very different mindset: “Let’s make things happen.”
They dive into the Formula 1 race, the Raiders’ on-field struggles, UFC turning Allegiant Stadium into a boxing venue, and how the new baseball stadium could double as a game-changer for concerts that don’t quite fit Allegiant’s scale. Ron also tackles a topic locals feel deeply — Strip fees that drive residents away, and why places like South Point continue to thrive with free parking and reasonable prices.
The conversation widens to the big picture:
Are we getting too corporate in sports?
Will Las Vegas host another Super Bowl?
Is an NBA team inevitable?
Ron also highlights sports figures who made a real impact this year, including A’ja Wilson, and reflects on gaming legend Bill Paulos’ lasting contributions to UNLV. Plus, he shares details on his new weekly show with George Knapp, “Mystery Wire,” now streaming via the 8 News Now app.
If you want to understand where Las Vegas sports have been — and where they’re headed next — this episode is a must-listen.
ABOUT:
Ron Futrell is a longtime journalist who has worked at a number of local TV/radio stations throughout the western United States. He has covered sports in Las Vegas since 1984.
Ron began his broadcasting career in the early ’80s in Salt Lake City at KSXX radio and KTVX TV. From there, he covered sports and news at KNDO TV in Yakima, WA.
He has covered Stanley Cup Finals, Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Finals and NCAA Championships. Ron has reported on virtually every major sporting event in Las Vegas over the past three decades, including major boxing and MMA events, NASCAR races, the rise and fall of UNLV basketball, the careers of local athletes like Greg Maddux, Andre Agassi, Randall Cunningham and Mike Tyson, along with many others. Ron is also well known for covering local high school and club sports in Las Vegas.
Ron is perhaps best known in Las Vegas for his work covering UNLV basketball throughout its glory days. As host of the Jerry Tarkanian TV show for 10 years, he was able to get the inside story on one of most remarkable teams in college basketball history.
Ron is also a journalism professor at University of Nevada Las Vegas and was the first to teach Sports Broadcasting classes at UNLV.
He says some of his greatest moments covering sports have been sitting ringside at the Hagler/Hearns fight in 1985 at Caesars Palace, watching the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels win the basketball National Championship in 1990 and witnessing the tremendous success of the inaugural season of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18.
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