Pac-12 likely moving basketball tournament to Las Vegas

The Pac-12 and Las Vegas Events are finalizing a deal for the league to play its 2013 and 2014 tournaments at the MGM Grand Garden, with the conference having an option for 2015. A three-year deal with a fourth-year option for 2016 also has been presented to the Pac-12 by Las Vegas Events.

Multiple news sources reported Tuesday the deal was done. But officials of Las Vegas Events and the Pac-12 denied the reports.

“It’s been in discussion, but nothing has been decided,” a Pac-12 spokesman said from Los Angeles.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the proposed move reportedly has the overwhelming support of the Pac-12 athletic directors, and conference presidents are expected to act on the matter Saturday.

If the deal gets done as anticipated, a news conference is tentatively planned for next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday, at the MGM Grand.

With attendance in decline for the past four years in downtown Los Angeles and ticket sales lagging for this year’s tournament, which starts today, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott appears to have convinced his presidents to take the event to a neutral location where fans would be willing to travel.

For the MGM Grand, hosting a basketball tournament would be a first. The Grand Garden, which opened in 1993, never has hosted a basketball game. Capacity for basketball would be 13,000 to 14,000.

Officials in Salt Lake City, Seattle and several Pac-12 campus sites also have expressed interest in hosting the tournament, and Los Angeles officials hope to keep the event. But Scott said the lure of Las Vegas and what it has to offer in entertainment, lodging and dining makes it the most attractive destination for one of the conference’s showcase events.

The arrival of the Pac-12 tournament would boost what already is a strong basketball postseason lineup in Las Vegas. The West Coast Conference finished a successful six-day run Monday at the Orleans Arena, with Saint Mary’s defeating Gonzaga in overtime, 78-74, to win the title in front of 6,826.

The Mountain West Conference tournament starts Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center, and with UNLV, New Mexico and San Diego State expected to be in next week’s NCAA Tournament, ticket sales have been brisk.

The Western Athletic Conference will hold its tournament at The Orleans for the second straight year starting Thursday.

At the Staples Center, the Pac-12 averaged 12,458 per session in 2010 and 11,210 in 2011. Since the league reinstated its tournament in 2002 in Los Angeles, its best draw was in 2007, when 84,477 attended, an average of 16,895 per session.

Scott, who became commissioner of the then-Pac-10 in 2009, decided last year to look into moving the tournament.

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