Even as it’s besieged by scrutiny over player safety and contending with fans distracted by the streaming revolution, the National Football League actually saw its revenue increase by 4.9% to $8.1 billion in 2018. Both Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League increased their revenue, while the National Basketball Association increased its league-wide revenue last year by a whopping 25%.

Americans love their sports, and continue spending to show their fandom. The effect is particularly pronounced out West, where opportunities are created for distributors as leagues expand and teams relocate.

Look at Las Vegas, a city that went from having no major professional sports teams to two – the NHL’s Golden Knights (an expansion team that started in 2017) and the Oakland Raiders, who were approved by the NFL to move to Vegas starting with the 2020 season. “Professional sports teams offer great opportunities: game-day giveaways, sponsored gifts and HR needs for new staff,” says Josh Kozinski, chief business development officer for Sky High Marketing in Las Vegas. “There’s already Golden Knights merchandise everywhere. In the past, it would’ve been just generic Las Vegas merchandise. Now it’s a whole new way of talking to the sports fan.” In the last couple years, the area has also seen the start of the Las Vegas Lights FC soccer club and the arrival of Las Vegas Aces women’s professional basketball. The Las Vegas Aviators, a minor league baseball team from nearby Summerlin, just received a name change with new logo and colors. “Sports is a growing segment,” Kozinski says. “Some of it’s licensed – but a lot of it isn’t.”

Sin City isn’t the only beneficiary of this movement. Despite being the second largest city in the U.S., Los Angeles went 20 years without a pro football franchise. Now it has two – the Rams and Chargers. Professional soccer teams in Seattle and Portland were started in the last decade and now boast rabid fanbases. And speaking of Seattle, in December the city won an expansion bid that will see a new NHL team begin play in 2021. It’s game on in the west.

Jersey rally towel (SU571) from FIEL (asi/53509); fiel.com

Heathered polyester mesh cap (i1081) with screen print and embroidery from Cap America (asi/43792); capamerica.com