Broadcaster hit hard by demise of IBL’s Bandits

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, March 20, 2001 | 9:49 a.m.

The demise of Las Vegas' Arena Football League team, the Las Vegas Sting, came at about the same time as the folding of the Las Vegas Dustdevils of the Continental Indoor Soccer League.

Both lasted two seasons (1993-95).

Then came the end of perhaps the city's most successful minor league team, the Las Vegas Thunder of the International Hockey League, that survived for five years (1994-99), which also coincided with the end of the Las Vegas Coyotes roller hockey team.

While most Las Vegans yawned every time a sports franchise bid farewell, Tim Neverett sighed because it meant one less paycheck.

But he wasn't heartbroken.

"It was always part time," said Neverett, who worked as a radio or TV broadcaster, sometimes both, for each of those teams. "It was just extra.

"When those went down, there was no feeling one way or the other. We kind of figured it would happen anyway."

The same could not be said for what happened last Monday afternoon when Neverett learned that the Las Vegas Bandits franchise of the second-year International Basketball League was shutting down its operation because of financial woes.

This time, Neverett, husband of Barbara and father of young sons Matthew, Kyle and Drew, was officially out of a job.

Neverett had quit his job as operations director for radio station KLAV to work full time for the International Basketball League, which hired him to be the head of communications, broadcasting and public relations for the Bandits. Neverett called all of the Bandits' radio and TV games and also helped with the promotions, marketing and sales of the team.

"This time, I think I would have to equivocate to being hit over the head with a hammer," Neverett said of seeing yet another franchise implode. "We had no warning this was coming.

"Yeah, the IBL had its problems. The local franchise had its problems attendance-wise, but attendance wasn't going to factor into whether the team would make it or not this year.

"I thought the questions about whether the team would be back, they would have come at the end of the year. I'm just so disappointed we didn't make it through the second year.

"I put a lot of effort into making this work and so did a lot of other people."

As was the case with the other failed sports teams, effort wasn't enough to garner the support of the community -- with the exception of the Thunder, which consistently drew thousands of fans to the Thomas & Mack Center.

Though the quality of basketball was very good, on most nights the Bandits were lucky if they had 1,000 fans in the stands. When the team had a promotion such as a trading card or T-shirt giveaway, attendance increased.

But for the most part, the Bandits usually played before a paltry several hundred that included players' wives, friends and family.

"It just never caught on with the community," Neverett said bluntly. "The community is not to blame for the team's demise.

"It was the investors defaulting on their payments."

Already, Neverett has begun scouring the classified advertisements and has started looking for a fulltime job here and elsewhere.

Neverett, named the IHL broadcaster of the year for the 1998-99 season and the Nevada sportscaster of the year for 2000, will be entering his seventh season as a broadcaster for the Las Vegas 51s, the Los Angeles Dodgers' triple-A affiliate.

Neverett is wary of joining another start-up league, particularly in this city.

"This has soured me to a point where, if there is anything else that comes into town, I'll have to think a lot harder about taking it," Neverett said. "It's a strange community when it comes to sports.

"I came from a place (Boston) where they are just rabid about sports. Coming out here, I expected people to feel the same way about sports, but they don't."

Neverett does have a few ideas on why the Thunder survived as long as it did and how another team could make it.

He says he is sure a hockey team would thrive if a new 9,000 to 10,000 seat arena was built, because the Thomas & Mack is overrun with too many events.

"Hockey can make it," he said. "It's different.

"We have basketball here with the Rebels. We have football here with the Rebels and the XFL in the winter. We have baseball. Hockey is exciting; it draws a different kind of crowd."

In 10 years since he moved to Las Vegas Neverett has weathered the passing of five teams.

If anyone can make it through this, it's Neverett.

Victoria Sun

is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. Reach her at 259-4078 or victoria@lasvegassun.com