Final word coming from league

Friday, July 29, 2005 | 10:58 a.m.

The Thomas & Mack Center has been put on notice to reserve a room for the National Basketball Association for a news conference next week, presumably to announce the 2007 NBA All-Star Game will be in Las Vegas.

"We have completed all the necessary paperwork between the LVCVA (Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority) and the NBA and we are very prepared for an announcement in the next seven to 10 days," said Daren Libonati, executive director of the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.

The game, if announced for Las Vegas, would be at the 22-year-old Thomas and Mack Center on Feb. 18, 2007.

"We've been put on notice (by the LVCVA) that we were expecting a phone call to scheduled one of our meeting rooms for the press conference. I have been waiting just as the LVCVA has been waiting.

Libonati said an LVCVA official told his office to be prepared because, if Las Vegas is approved, the announcement would come during the first week of August.

Another source close to the effort to bring the All-Star Game to Las Vegas said the official announcement will be made next Friday.

NBA spokesman Tim Frank said today that no decision has been made regarding which city will get the game.

"Las Vegas has put in an application and we are reviewing all of the applications," he said. "The process (for selection of the site of the 2007 game) is still ongoing."

Other cities that have been reported as being in contention for the 2007 game are Toronto, New Orleans and Memphis, Tenn., all of which have NBA teams.

The 2006 All-Star Game will be in Houston. Last year, the announcement that Houston had been selected was not made until October, Frank noted.

Frank said the Las Vegas application "is unique," as the All-Star Ggame never has been in a city that does not have an NBA team.

The LVCVA Board in July unanimously approved submitting a bid to host the 2007 event. Board members agreed to spend $4.5 million to bring the game to Las Vegas.

The LVCVA expects to recoup $1.6 million of the that money from various revenue sources associated with the game and its related activities, including the five-day NBA Jam Session, featuring a slam dunk contest, 3-point shoot-out and autograph signing.

Attempts to reach LVCVA president and chief executive Rossi Ralenkotter for comment today were not successful. Ralenkotter previously has said the game would attract an estimated 25,000 out-of-town visitors producing $27 million in non-gaming revenue for Las Vegas.

LVCVA board member Jim Gibson, the mayor of Henderson, declined to comment on the pending announcement, saying it is an issue the NBA controls.

The game, which would be played on a Sunday, would be broadcast on the TNT cable network in 212 countries in 41 languages. It is expected to be seen by more than 3.1 million people worldwide.

The festivities also would include the Rookie Challenge, a game pitting rookie stars against second-year players in the league, and a celebrity game, both of which also would be nationally televised.

Gaming regulators have approved banning wagering on the game.