The best and worst of Las Vegas history will be on display for the world to see starting this weekend with the debut of two documentary series.

Those looking to take in a little Las Vegas history have about a month before the legendary Tropicana closes and is demolished for a proposed baseball stadium to house the Athletics, the Major League Baseball team that has called Oakland home since 1968.

Every other year, Preserve Nevada lists 11 of the state’s most threatened sites. Sometimes the sites are saved. Other times, they disappear.

Thirty years ago this winter, during the middle of the last media dinosaur age — that is, when a print magazine could be a cultural event — Time magazine put Las Vegas on its cover.

Ten years ago, the idea of Las Vegas having a professional football team was unthinkable. Now, the city is home to three franchises and is hosting the Super Bowl for the first time. What changed to make Sin City one of the biggest sports havens in the country?

While many of the fans making the trek from the famous Las Vegas Strip are local, more than half are not. Pro football, it seems, is now a part of the Vegas tourist experience. When local officials agreed to pay $750 million of the stadium bill, they expected a benefit of 450,000 visitors a year. The reality has been nearly double that. The arrival of the Super Bowl on Feb. 11 alone is expected to bring 330,000 fans.

Michael Green is the head coach of history at UNLV, the perfect guy for a crash course in Las Vegas sports history 101.

All the familiar, time-tested sights greet visitors to this glitzy desert oasis. One pyramid-shaped hotel-casino. Another meant to mythically transport guests to Venice. A giant replica of the Statue of Liberty. But the 2024 edition of Las Vegas also includes a once-unthinkable sports presence.