The year 2022 was kind to sports fans, gifting fans the Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup as well as annual staples like the Super Bowl, March Madness and NBA Finals.
What does 2023 have in store for sports fans?
Here are the biggest sporting events coming in 2023:
Super Bowl LVII
Feb. 12, 2023
Despite being an annual occurrence, the Super Bowl is always one of the biggest sporting events of the year. Thousands of football fans flock to the city hosting it and millions more watch from their homes.
In 2023, the Super Bowl returns to Glendale, Arizona. The conference championship games that determine which two teams will be playing in the Super Bowl are on Jan. 26.
As of Dec. 20, a Super Bowl matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Eagles is the favorite, according to Legal Sports Report.
NBA All-Star game
Feb. 19, 2023
The best players in the NBA will descend upon Utah in February during a long weekend away from their regular teams. The NBA All-Star game is returning to Salt Lake City after 30 years, the Deseret News reported.
The city will also be hosting All-Star game events throughout All-Star weekend. Fans can purchase tickets to attend the All-Star Celebrity Game, the Rising Stars Game, the All-Star practice, the NBA HBCU Classic, the NBA G-League Next Up Game and the interactive NBA Crossover fan experience.
Approximately 121,600 people attended the 2022 NBA All-Star weekend in Cleveland, according to WKYC.
March Madness
March 14-April 3, 2023
The first games of the annual March Madness basketball tournament, known as the First Four, will be played in Dayton, Ohio, on March 14 and 15. March Madness wraps up nearly three weeks later in Houston, Texas, with the Final Four on April 1 and National Championship on April 3. The bracket will be released on March 12.
The following cities will host March Madness games, according to ESPN:
- Dayton, Ohio.
- Birmingham, Alabama.
- Des Moines, Iowa.
- Orlando, Florida.
- Sacramento, California.
- Columbus, Ohio.
- Albany, New York.
- Greensboro, North Carolina.
- Denver, Colorado.
- Las Vegas.
- New York City.
- Kansas City, Missouri.
- Louisville, Kentucky.
- Houston, Texas.
FIFA Women’s World Cup
July 20-Aug. 20, 2023
The men’s World Cup just wrapped up, but soccer fans don’t have to wait long for more international soccer since the women’s World Cup is right around the corner.
For the first time, Australia and New Zealand will be co-hosting the tournament, giving us a glimpse of what the 2026 men’s World Cup will look like with the U.S. co-hosting with Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. women’s national team is looking to become the first men’s or women’s national team to win three consecutive World Cups, according to Fox Sports. The U.S. is in a group with Vietnam, the Netherlands, whom the U.S. beat in the last World Cup final, and either Portugal, Thailand or Cameroon.
Ahead of the tournament, the U.S. will face Brazil, Canada and Japan in the SheBelieves Cup in February, Fox Sports reported. In January, the U.S. will travel to New Zealand to play two friendlies against the World Cup hosts.
Formula One’s Las Vegas Grand Prix
Nov. 18, 2023
There will be three Formula One races in the U.S. in 2023: the Miami Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix in Austin and the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The last one is the most notable, since Formula One racing is coming back to Las Vegas after 41 years away. Practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix will take place on Nov. 16, and qualifying will be held on Nov. 17, according to the F1 website.
The 3.8-mile track for the race will include the Las Vegas Strip and will feature famous city landmarks, including the Bellagio, Planet Hollywood and Caesar’s Palace, where the last Formula One Las Vegas race took place in 1982, according to the race’s website.