Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008 | 8:50 p.m.
Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson weighs UNLV’s home-court advantage in the annual league basketball tournament with all that Las Vegas offers those visitors.
In a story published Saturday in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle, Thompson addressed the issue.
The tournament will be staged at the Thomas & Mack Center at the end of the next two seasons, and then league brass can extend it two more seasons, through 2012.
"We're going look at if there are other cities interested in hosting this event,” Thompson said. “We'll let the membership ultimately decide. It’s a real concern for the men’s coaches, not so much on the women’s side.”
UNLV won the Mountain West men's tournament title at the Mack in 2007 and 2008. From 2000 to 2003, UNLV played in three of the four finals in Las Vegas, winning it in 2000.
The Rebels lost to Utah in the championship game in Denver in 2004, the first of three consecutive seasons it was played in the Pepsi Center. UNLV did not play in the final tournament game in 2005 or 2006.
But crowds didn’t take to Denver. At the 2002 tournament in Las Vegas, average attendance was 13,483. In Denver, in 2006, it was 7,489.
Sun and warmth – maybe even a show and some blackjack – were favored over cold and snow.
“Our fans, alumni and season ticket holders have been resoundingly loud in stating that they want the tournament in Las Vegas,” Thompson said in March. “I've always said that there is only one Las Vegas, and it happens to be in the Mountain West Conference.
“That's a real advantage for us, because it is truly a destination city. I think what it comes down to is that (Las Vegas) is where the fans want to attend.”
UNLV has a career conference tournament record of 17-5, while BYU and Utah are 11-8.
Toward the end of last season, Steve Alford, in his first season as New Mexico’s coach, favored a neutral site before he ever coached in a Mountain West hoops tournament.
"There's not a lot of fairness right now for the other eight league schools,” he said, “knowing that one of the league schools gets to play home games and the other eight have to play neutral games or, if you're playing UNLV, has to play a road game."
That Las Vegas is one of the world’s destination cities, Thompson told the Tribune-Eagle, is not a minor factor.
“Playing on their home court with an automatic berth at the NCAA Tournament at stake is a real advantage for UNLV,” he said. “The trade-off is Las Vegas is a great destination city. Our fans want to be there.
“It's financially very solid for us. It's our biggest event. We don't have a championship football game, so a four-day basketball tournament is our annual showcase.”
And if a 2005 survey by San Diego State continues to be accurate, more than 70 percent of a wide range of officials and fans in the Mountain West will want to keep coming to Las Vegas for the basketball tournament.
The membership can discuss other options, but all it has to do is look at Denver to know why Las Vegas is the best home for the event.
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