Las Vegas pro sports graveyard has football, hockey teams — PHOTOS

The Ignite is extinguished. The Vipers are vaporized. The Rollers appear flattened.

These are the latest professional sports teams to live and die in Las Vegas.

Sure, all the talk around town has been about Las Vegas emerging as the new hotspot for sports with the Golden Knights, Raiders and Formula One setting up camp in the city.

And let’s not forget about the Silver Knights, Aces, Desert Dogs, Thrill, Lights and Knight Hawks. Even Las Vegas’ oldest sports franchise, the Aviators, has changed names and venues.

But the other side of the coin shouldn’t be forgotten about. Let’s take a stroll through the graveyard of Las Vegas pro sports teams:

Ignite

Born: 2020

Died: 2024

Epitaph: The NBA’s developmental minor league basketball team, the G League Ignite, was born in 2020 in California and moved to Henderson in 2022. The team struggled on the court and at the box office.

Vipers

Born: 2022

Died: 2023

Epitaph: The pro football team played at Cashman Field for one season in the resurrected XFL. The Vipers were last in the league in attendance with an average of 6,028 fans.

Rollers

Born: 2019

Died: 2020?

Epitaph: The World TeamTennis franchise played its inaugural season at the Orleans Arena. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the team played its 2020 matches in West Virginia. The team didn’t play in an abbreviated 2021 season and the WTT hasn’t played a match since.

Locos head coach Jim Fassel adjusts his hat during practice in Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas in ... — Locos head coach Jim Fassel adjusts his hat during practice in Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas in 2012. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Locomotives

Born: 2009

Died: 2012

Epitaph: The Locos played in the four-team United Football League and were led by former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel. They played in three UFL championship games, winning two.

Wranglers

Born: 2003

Died: 2015

Epitaph: The ECHL franchise played 11 seasons at Orleans Arena, with their final one ending in 2014. The Wranglers’ lease at the venue wasn’t renewed and their owner couldn’t find a new facility to play in. The team, famous for its midnight games and other wacky promotions, folded in early 2015. But the Las Vegas hockey drought didn’t last long. The Golden Knights started play in 2017 and the Silver Knights followed three years later.

Thunder

Born: 1993

Died: 1999

Epitaph: The Thunder paved the way for professional hockey in Las Vegas. The International Hockey League team featured a dozen or more former NHL players and played at the Thomas & Mack Center. They averaged 8,018 fans, fourth among the IHL’s 14 franchises. The team’s polar bear mascot, “Boom Boom,” was a fan favorite.

Las Vegas running back Rod "He Hate Me" Smart celebrates the Outlaws victory at Sam Boyd Stadiu ... — Las Vegas running back Rod "He Hate Me" Smart celebrates the Outlaws victory at Sam Boyd Stadium in February 2001. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Outlaws (AFL)

Born: 2014

Died: 2015

Epitaph: The Outlaws had a short, tumultuous inaugural season in the Arena Football League. They finished their lone season in Las Vegas with a 5-12-1 record.

Outlaws (XFL)

Born: 2001

Died: 2001

Epitaph: This was Las Vegas’ first XFL team and the first to use the “Outlaws” name. They played at Sam Boyd Stadium and finished their lone season with a 4-6 record.

Other teams

Las Vegas Dustdevils (Continental Indoor Soccer League, 1994-95), Las Vegas Posse (Canadian Football League, 1994), Las Vegas Sting (AFL, 1994-95), Las Vegas Americans (Major Indoor Soccer League, 1984-85), Las Vegas Seagulls (American Soccer League, 1979) and Las Vegas Quicksilvers (North American Soccer League, 1976-78).

Contact Mark Davis at mdavis@reviewjournal.com.