Las Vegas aims to be home for new conference

Steve Carp

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.

It's time for Las Vegas to put its best foot forward, and the head of the Nevada Development Authority says it's ready.

The new Mountain West Conference, comprised of the eight schools breaking away from the Western Athletic Conference, is looking for a place to call home. Whether or not Las Vegas gets the nod over Colorado Springs will depend on how today's presentation goes.

Meanwhile, the Mountain West is on the verge of tying the knot with ESPN in a made-for-television marriage, and also may be ready to align itself with the Las Vegas Bowl.

Commissioner Craig Thompson is in town today and will be very interested in what the NDA has to say.

"We sold our house and the moving van pulls out Nov. 30, so I want to be able to tell them where to deliver our stuff," he said. "I'm hoping we'll have a decision on our headquarters real soon."

Somer Hollingsworth, president of the NDA, said the proposed package would be impressive. Estimates rate the value of the NDA's offer between $500,000 and $750,000.

"I think Las Vegas obviously has a lot to offer," he said. "We have proximity, availability of hotel rooms and services. We have great venues to stage sporting events and we have a lifestyle we believe is very attractive.

"It's going to come down to can we offer enough of the incentives to beat Colorado Springs?"

The Colorado Springs' bid includes a year's free rent of office space as well as housing and transportation perks. Hollingsworth said the Las Vegas proposal has three potential office sites -- Green Valley-Henderson, the Northwest-Summerlin area and the Flamingo-Paradise area.

"We've got two companies willing to negotiate," he said of the free rent proposal. "We've got all the automobiles we can handle. We have a great source of personnel to choose from, a great work force.

"Colorado Springs is a wonderful place, but Las Vegas offers a much more well-rounded situation."

Meanwhile, Thompson said an agreement in principle could be made with ESPN any time now, after the two sides moved closer to a deal last week at a meeting in Colorado Springs.

After initially offering the new league a nine-year deal at $6 million per year, ESPN came back with a seven-year proposal at approximately $7 million per year. The Mountain West would like a shorter deal -- five years for roughly the same money.

"I think we're really close," Thompson said. "ESPN is feeling very comfortable working with us and I think those corners can be rounded off in the next week."

Thompson said if the network won't go for a five-year package, the league would be willing to go six or even seven years.

"I think seven is something the league can live with," he said. "But it (the meeting) was very productive and I'm very encouraged."

So are several of the Mountain West's athletic directors.

"I thought we made a lot of progress," UNLV's Charlie Cavagnaro said. "The length of the contract is more to our liking and the money is better than the previous offer. I think we can have a deal in the next week. I don't see a stumbling block at this point."

Added Utah's Chris Hill: "I was very encouraged. There was a good atmosphere and I think we're going to get a deal done real soon."

Thompson said the deal with ESPN would get the Mountain West into the coveted "Big Monday" slot currently held by the WAC, which is in the final year of its deal with ESPN. It also would mean exposure for both football and basketball on ABC, which is ESPN's parent company under the Capital Cities banner.

However, Thompson did not rule out the possibility that the Fox Sports Network could come back with an offer which would surpass ESPN's.

Thompson also hopes to close a deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority regarding the Mountain West's participation in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Word is if the LVCVA will up the payout to $1 million per team, the Mountain West would commit its champion to the game. The Las Vegas Bowl currently pays $750,000 per school.

Rossi Ralenkotter, the LVCVA's vice president of marketing, said Tuesday there has been no talk of boosting the payout. However, he said the topic could come up during today's meeting.