When the rodeo left Las Vegas, it removed the last big event this year that could have re-energized the city’s Strip and battered convention business.

The Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association’s National Finals Rodeo, held in Las Vegas since 1985, moved to Arlington, Texas, in September because of Nevada’s pandemic restrictions. The 10-day rodeo attracted 170,000 fans last year and ranks as one of Las Vegas’s top draws annually.

As other states have opened more swiftly, Nevada’s public-health restrictions and a weakened travel industry have kept conventions and meetings from returning to Las Vegas, a continuing setback for the city’s battered casino industry and the state’s overall economy. City officials and event producers say they expect Las Vegas’s convention business to return as coronavirus concerns ease, but no one knows when that might be or how conventions will