Mick Akers
Mick Akers covers the intersection of sports business and transportation, focusing on how team expansions, stadium projects and major mobility investments reshape the sports economy and daily movement patterns around major events. He reports for the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a sports business and transportation specialist, tracking both the financial side of professional and college teams and the infrastructure that serves fans and residents. His beat joins two complex systems - sports and transport - and his coverage is built around deals, projects and technologies that move people to games and through the region.
Sports business and expansion in Las Vegas
Akers concentrates on the business operations of local franchises and major events, following ownership, expansion, relocation and community investment rather than game results. His reporting on the NBA’s move toward a Las Vegas expansion team breaks down the finalist ownership groups, bid structure and valuation details, framing the story as a competition among investors and league stakeholders. Coverage of the Raiders emphasizes the stadium and operations side, including work on Allegiant Stadium’s Raiders-branded artificial turf and how the venue is prepared for game days.
He extends that lens to major events such as the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix, writing about the race’s third year and noting the shift to a more settled, less contentious presence in the city’s event calendar.
His sports business beat also includes league-led community investments, illustrated by stories on NBA players and executives unveiling upgrades to a local YMCA tied to the league’s in-season tournament games. Across these subjects he consistently returns to how team decisions, venue projects and league initiatives translate into economic impact and local engagement.
Road Warrior: transportation projects and mobility tech
Akers writes the weekly “Road Warrior” column, a long-running series that examines transportation systems, driver behavior and emerging mobility technologies in the region.
The column regularly details major road projects, such as the $130 million 215 Beltway/Summerlin Parkway interchange, explaining progress milestones and what they mean for commuters. He covers planned upgrades to Interstate 15 south of the city, connecting construction proposals to regional traffic, freight movement and travel to and from Southern California.
High-speed rail is another recurring theme, with reporting on Brightline West that distinguishes the Las Vegas–Southern California project from its Florida counterpart and clarifies the implications of the Florida operator’s bankruptcy for the western line’s financing and schedule. Akers frequently tests and explains new mobility services, including autonomous ride options like Waymo’s Ojai vehicles on the Strip, where he documents route coverage, rider experience and operational boundaries.
He compares robotaxi economics by analyzing Zoox fares against Lyft prices across multiple Las Vegas destinations, quantifying how much more riders pay for autonomous trips and where the gaps are largest. The Boring Company’s Vegas Loop system is a staple of his work, with pieces on upcoming expansions, system performance and the approval of new stations - including campus stops - as the network grows under the city’s tourism strategy.
His Road Warrior coverage also tracks driver habits and costs, from AAA survey data showing a culture of speeding to stories on shifting transportation options and gas price spikes that raise the prospect of new local records.
Stadiums, venues and major events
Beyond daily sports business stories, Akers closely follows stadium and arena projects, treating new and existing venues as infrastructure that underpins the region’s sports and entertainment ambitions.
Reporting on Allegiant Stadium includes pieces on the installation of team-branded turf and other operational details that show how the facility is configured for NFL games and other events. His Formula One coverage situates the Las Vegas Grand Prix as an evolving annual anchor, noting its third iteration and the reduced drama around the race as organizers and the city adjust to its demands. Professional and college team moves are covered through the lens of facilities, with attention to pending relocations, expansion discussions and the stadium and arena plans that accompany them.
Across these stories he connects venue design, financing and operations to the broader strategy of attracting and retaining teams and events, reinforcing his focus on how physical spaces and major spectacles fit into the sports business landscape.
Beat history and experience
Akers has covered sports business and transportation for the Las Vegas Review-Journal since joining the masthead in November 2018.
Before that, he reported on transportation, business, gaming, technology, energy, government and sports for another daily outlet in the same market, including coverage of the Raiders’ pending move and major news events. Earlier in his career at a regional paper, his reporting on the Lamar Odom brothel overdose and rural healthcare earned an Outstanding Journalist award from the Nevada Press Association. He has long experience in sports journalism, having served as a boxing writer and editor and contributed freelance sports and business pieces to other publications, which informs his attention to both competition and the structures and money around it.
That background underpins a beat that treats teams and transport networks as interconnected systems, and his current work stays grounded in concrete projects, data and on-the-ground reporting rather than commentary.
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