New facility fills Rebels’ bill

Steve Carp

Wednesday, May 5, 1999 | 10:22 a.m.

It started out as a simple endeavor -- a place for Bill Bayno's UNLV basketball team to practice when the Thomas & Mack Center was occupied.

When it's completed in March 2000, Cox Pavilion will be much, much more than just a practice gym.

Because the more he thought about it, Thomas & Mack director Pat Christenson realized he could address several key issues facing his arena as well as the school's athletic department by expanding on the original concept.

Christenson needed a mini-venue to accommodate small concerts, trade shows and family shows that couldn't come close to filling the Mack. Athletic director Charles Cavagnaro needed to upgrade the facilities his women's basketball and volleyball teams practiced and played in, which would help address the ongoing Title IX issues UNLV is dealing with.

And Bayno needed a place for his team to practice.

Cox Pavilion addresses all of those needs, while freeing up dates inside the Thomas & Mack as well as space in the McDermott Physical Education Complex for classes and intramurals. The two McDermott gyms are currently occupied by basketball and volleyball.

"It just made sense to build one building that could handle all the functions," Christenson said of the 60,000 square-foot, three-story building that will adjoin the Thomas & Mack. "This will be the first of what will be many built around the country."

The $8.5 million project already has its foundation poured and some of its walls constructed. The lower level will have new locker rooms for the three teams that will use the facility. The middle level will have two full-size basketball practice courts for Bayno's team. The upper level will house the 4,000-seat arena court the Lady Rebels and the volleyball team will call home. The arena also will host the aforementioned concerts, trade shows and family shows.

"We went to our architect (Ellerbe Becket) and gave them our ideas," Christenson said. "They came up with the concept."

Aesthetically, the new building is a radical departure from the original concept. There's a sleek look to Cox Pavilion with rounded corners and a flared roof which gives it a distinctive look from the adjoining Thomas & Mack.

"We didn't want it to look like a barn," Christenson said. "We wanted it to have some atmosphere to it."

And as good as the building will look, its functional purpose is more important. It will help UNLV's recruiting in basketball and volleyball and it also gives the Rebels a leg up when comparing facilities in the new Mountain West Conference.

"With the practical aspects, it's a huge step forward for Title IX," Cavagnaro said. "We started out behind because unlike the rest of the league, men's and women's basketball didn't function in the same building.

"Now, it puts us way ahead of the pack. It answers our concerns."

The fact that it's more than just a practice gym gave Cox Communications incentive to buy the title sponsorship for $5 million over the next 10 years.

"It's a total partnership," Cox's Jill Campbell said. "We needed visibility and we have a commitment to education and supporting UNLV.

"If it was just about throwing a name on a building, that wasn't it. It was getting involved with the university on something that will benefit everyone.

"It's a match made in heaven for us."

Cox Communications will be getting more than its name on a building for its investment. The communications giant will receive signage exposure in both the Thomas & Mack and the pavilion. It also will have an interactive kiosk in the T&M similar to the one at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.

Plans also call for UNLV's coaches' television shows to appear on one of Cox's Las Vegas cable system channels. And the company's logo will adorn the pavilion's arena floor.

"It wouldn't have happened without Cox Communications," Christenson said of the project, which had been in the works for several years and had picked up steam in the last several months. "Getting (Las Vegas Sun editor) Brian Greenspun's support behind the project was a big part of this.

"It came down to how do we support the cost of a practice facility? And when it grew into a multi-purpose event pavilion, it just became a matter of finding someone to invest in the concept."