Copa America brings ‘special and unique’ tournament to Las Vegas

Allegiant Stadium will add another massive global sporting event to its résumé this week.

Two Copa America group stage games will take place at the venue, with Ecuador facing Jamaica at 3 p.m. Wednesday, followed by international power Brazil against Paraguay at 6 p.m. Friday.

A quarterfinal is also slated for Allegiant Stadium on July 6.

“Las Vegas is great for soccer,” said TelevisaUnivision host Lindsay Casinelli, who is working on the network’s studio team for the tournament. “Wonderful stadium. What a beautiful place. It has become the capital not just of entertainment, but also sports.

“To me, it was one of the best Super Bowls I’ve been to because of what Las Vegas has to offer. It’s become a great city for any kind of tournament, and that’s part of why Brazil wants to play there, for sure. It’s so fun.”

The tournament will put Las Vegas on full display throughout the Americas. Last held in 2021, Copa America serves as the championship of South America’s CONMEBOL federation and is the oldest continental tournament in the world.

This marks the 10th time the United States has hosted the tournament and the 10th time it has been invited to compete.

While Allegiant Stadium got a bit of a dress rehearsal with the Gold Cup final in 2021, these will be the biggest soccer matches to ever take place in Las Vegas.

“The whole continents of North, Central and South America are coming together with the best of the best,” Casinelli said. “You can see the stars of all these countries. We’re talking about the only five-time champs of the world in Brazil, then you have Argentina, the current world champions, and Uruguay, two-time world champs. We’re talking about the best players, and they are right here.

“That’s why this one is so special and unique.”

She said the passion of South American soccer fans will be on full display, which should make for special scenes at Allegiant Stadium. The importance of Copa America will be evident to anyone in the area before, during and after the matches.

That will especially be true of Brazil, which has one of the game’s brightest stars in 23-year-old phenom Vinicius Junior.

“Explosive, fast and smart,” is how Casinelli described him. “One of the players who makes soccer fun to watch. He has that Brazilian style, the jogo bonito, the beautiful game. He’s one of my favorite players to watch right now, and I think if he has a good Copa America, he’ll be named the Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world. (Lionel) Messi has won eight, now we are looking to new blood. He’s one of those, and Las Vegas has the chance to see him.”

The city might also get to see the U.S. national team play in a quarterfinal, should it win Group C over Uruguay. This event gives the team valuable experience ahead of a 2026 World Cup in which it hopes to be a factor.

“This tournament is big, especially because of the moment the U.S. is going through,” said Casinelli, a Venezuela native who resides in Florida. “There’s so much talent. I’ve never seen a U.S. team with this much talent. (Christian) Pulisic, (Gio) Reyna, Weston McKennie. We’re talking about players from the best 11 leagues in the world. That has to take the sport to another level in this country.”

She said the combination of Copa America and the World Cup coming to the U.S. in 2026 is a bigger moment than the 1994 World Cup because of the record participation levels in youth soccer now.

“Right now, we’re at a totally different moment,” she said. “I think it’s a great moment for soccer in this country, especially with the World Cup in two years. You have the best player in the world in Messi and the possible player of the year in Vini Jr. It doesn’t get much better.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.