Columnist Ron Kantowski: Christenson will be missed

Tuesday, July 3, 2001 | 10:28 a.m.

Ron Kantowski's column normally appears Thursday. Reach him at ron@lasvegassun.com or 259-4088. Regular columnist Dean Juipe is on vacation.

Some people judge others by the way they look, or the company they keep. Others consider a person's legacy, or his ability to be productive within a framework of constraints, be they budgetary or logistical.

In my business, I have come to judge people on whether or not they return phone calls.

That's why I was chagrined to learn that Pat Christenson will be stepping down as director of the Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium to become president of Las Vegas Events.

Like the price of a domestic beer down at Binion's Horseshoe, Christenson's accessibility was something you could count on. Regardless of the time of day, the nature of the call or his location, he always got back to you.

When his secretary said he was out of town but would be calling for messages, it was not a euphemism for "he's playing golf and can't be bothered." He actually did call for messages. When Christenson was said to be "in a meeting," you could bet his presence would be duly recorded in the minutes.

Christenson might be visiting distant relatives in Hooterville, but if you needed him to confirm a story, chances are he'd shoo Oliver Douglas down from the telephone pole so he could get back to you on deadline.

That's only a slight exaggeration. A couple of years ago, I left a message for Pat, seeking his comment on Las Vegas' new franchise in the Humorous Cummerbund League, or some other bogus minor league franchise that constantly was hitting him up for the keys to the Mack. He was on vacation, and when he called back, it sounded like he was in the middle of a party.

He was. One of his daughters was celebrating her birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. When I noted that as an aside the next day, Christenson called to say thanks, saying that it made him look like a good guy in his daughter's eyes.

Those two words -- good guy -- were a popular refrain around the sports department Monday when news of Christenson's resignation became public. That's because he returned your phone call, even if you didn't know him very well.

That everyone in our department had encountered Christenson in some shape or form speaks volumes about how big a player he had become on the local sports and entertainment scene. Anybody who could sing, dance, tell a joke or dunk a basketball planning to show off in Las Vegas had to first see Christenson.

A person in his position is never going to please all the people, all the time, and I'm sure there were those who didn't see eye-to-eye with Christenson. When Jerry Tarkanian was run out of town and the basketball program ceased footing the bill for the entire UNLV athletic program, the Mack and to a lesser extent, Sam Boyd Stadium, turned into money-making machines for the university.

Local hockey fans still blame Christenson's lofty lease for the demise of the Thunder, and former UNLV basketball coach Bill Bayno always groused about turning over the Mack to a bunch of Skoal brothers during the National Finals Rodeo.

Still, Christenson was a huge asset to UNLV athletics, and those close to him said he might have stayed on campus, had Charlie Cavagnaro's soon-to-be-vacated athletic director's chair been offered to him. Of the two key figures within the department who announced their resignations in the past 10 days, he'll be missed more.