WAC basketball tourney to return to Vegas in 2011

Ten years after leaving Las Vegas, the Western Athletic Conference's basketball tournament is returning as a neutral-site event.

The WAC, which had its tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center from 1997 to 1999 when UNLV belonged in the league, will play its championship at the 8,500-seat Orleans Arena beginning in 2011.

The league signed a two-year deal to play in Las Vegas, where the tournament will be on a neutral court for only the second time in its 26-year history. The Delta Center in Salt Lake City hosted the WAC tournament in 1993 and 1994.

A news conference to officially announce the deal is scheduled for Wednesday at The Orleans.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson would not confirm the move Monday, but he did say a neutral-site tournament is something his coaches have sought for a while. WAC member UNR will host the 2010 tournament.

"Over the course of the last year, it has become more critical and important to find a neutral site to satisfy the concerns of our men's and women's coaches," Benson said.

Las Vegas will host three conference tournaments over a nine-day span in March 2011. The Mountain West Conference will play its tournament from March 9 to 12 at the Thomas & Mack, the same four days that the WAC will be at the Orleans Arena. The West Coast Conference tournament will be March 4 to 7 at the Orleans Arena.

The success of last season's WCC event apparently stimulated the WAC's interest in Las Vegas.

Benson attended the WCC title game between Gonzaga and Saint Mary's at a sold-out Orleans Arena and was impressed with the atmosphere. He also said at the time that the league was looking for a neutral site that would be attractive for its fans.

He said Monday that if the WAC were to move to a neutral site, it had few viable options.

"When we were in Salt Lake, even with Utah and (Brigham Young), our attendance wasn't great," Benson said of the two years at the Delta Center, when the average attendance was 10,263 in 1993 and 7,778 in 1994. "But if we're going to go to a neutral site, Las Vegas is the only non-WAC city where the geography works."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.