Pac-12 will move tournament to T-Mobile Arena next year

The Pacific 12 Conference has decided it’s time to super-size its men’s basketball tournament.

The league announced Friday it will move its event from the 12,916-seat MGM Grand Garden to the 18,500-seat T-Mobile Arena in 2017. It’s a three-year deal through 2019.

“We’ve got great momentum of this event, and we had the great opportunity to move to a new facility,” Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said. “We were convinced moving would be a natural next step and give more of our fans a chance to experience the tournament.”

The Pac-12 moved to Las Vegas from Los Angeles in 2013 and immediately saw a dramatic increase in attendance. This year, for the first time in the history of the event, it sold out the entire tournament before opening day.

“We have a vision for a bigger, better experience for our fans and student-athletes,” Scott said.

Las Vegas Events president Pat Christenson said, “I’m confident the move will strengthen the event.”

The heightened demand no doubt was a key factor in making the move to T-Mobile, which will have 5,500 additional seats but can be scaled down to a smaller capacity.

“We have built in to all the buildings we’re building these days the ability to flex capacity up and down,” said Dan Beckerman of Anschutz Entertainment Group. “It is going to have all the features necessary to flex the capacity up and down as needed.”

The other motive for moving was T-Mobile will be a state-of-the-art facility with an infrastructure that will allow the Pac-12 to better run its event. And with suites and club seats, the conference can cater to its corporate sponsors and university presidents in a first-class fashion. The Grand Garden, which opened in 1993, does not have luxury boxes or club seating.

For the MGM, getting the Pac-12 to move its event is a big win for its suiteholders. By adding important inventory, it increases the value of owning a luxury box.

The other added attraction will be Toshiba Plaza, which figures to be a popular meeting place for fans before and after games as well as serve as a place for pregame and postgame entertainment. The two-acre area leads into T-Mobile Arena.

“We think it will help enhance the entire fan experience,” Scott said.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj