History of the Aces

The Las Vegas Aces are a professional basketball team based in Paradise, Nevada, playing in the Western Conference in the Women’s National Basketball Association(WNBA). The Aces play their games at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

The team was founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the Utah Starzz before the league’s inaugural 1997 season. It then moved to San Antonio, Texas before the 2003 season and became the San Antonio Silver Stars, later shortened to the San Antonio Stars in 2014. The team relocated to Las Vegas before the 2018 season. The team is owned by MGM Resorts International. They are the third WNBA franchise not to share a market with an existing NBA team, following the Seattle Storm and Connecticut Sun.

Established
1997

City
Salt Lake City – San Antonio – Las Vegas

League History
1997 – Present / Women’s National Basketball Association

Team History
2018 – Present / Las Vegas Aces
2014 – 2017 / San Antonio Stars
2002 – 2013 / San Antonio Silver Stars
1997 – 2002 / Utah Starzz

Nickname
Aces – Bill Hornbuckle, MGM Resorts International president, confirmed that the franchise was considering keeping the nickname Stars but said that MGM owned the rights to “Las Vegas Aces” for more than a year. The group preferred the new identity and finalized the team name.

Championship
WNBA Championships 1
2022

Arena
2018 – Present / Mandalay Bay Events Center

*San Antonio*
2003 – 2017 / AT&T Center

*Salt Lake City*
1997 – 2002 / Delta Center

Owner
2018 – Present / MGM Resorts International
2003 – 2017 / Peter Holt
1997 – 2002 / Larry H. Miller

Retired Number

*Blue is this team’s history