Expect new looks as NBA Summer League rolls into Las Vegas

With the NBA Summer League rolling into Las Vegas with story lines galore this week — what team will sign superstar free agent LeBron James and will Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling ever go away? — organizers of the annual 11-day event are unveiling new business and fan amenities at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion.

With 24 NBA teams playing 67 games from Friday to July 21, Albert Hall, one of the summer league organizers, said he expects a 12 percent increase in ticket sales over last year’s attendance of 62,128 and noted the summer league has invested more than $2 million in event improvements at the arenas on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus.

The relaxed, baseball spring training-style atmosphere at the two gyms gives great access for fans to cozy up to newly drafted stars like Andrew Wiggins, the first overall draft pick of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Jabari Parker, the second overall pick of the Milwaukee Bucks, and many other freshly minted NBA rookies playing their first professional games.

Hall attributed the ticket sale increase to Utah Jazz fans attending the games, which allow NBA teams to evaluate rookies, young players and veterans looking to catch on with a professional team. The clubs also play in a tournament set-up, which could be used as a springboard for the 2014-15 regular season, which starts in October.

The Jazz join the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers as new teams at the 2014 summer league, which also lost the Memphis Grizzlies from 2013. This year’s collection of NBA teams in Las Vegas increases from 22 in 2013 to 24 this year.

Hall and his summer league co-organizer, NBA coach agent Warren LeGarie, are rolling out new playing floors, a new 20-by-12-foot video board for Cox Pavilion and a 15-by-18-foot helium-filled, remote-controlled airship that will float in the Thomas & Mack Center displaying summer league branding.

A PROVING GROUND FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY

The summer league plans to boost fan activities with a “pop-a-shot” interaction and more autograph opportunities, install new LED signage and video boards in Cox Pavilion, and host a daily NBA-TV show from the Thomas & Mack Center concourse. Cox Pavilion’s capacity is about 3,000, while the biggest crowd for a summer league game in Thomas & Mack was about 8,000 last year, Hall said.

The NBA will also use the summer league to fine-tune its R & D technology, by testing Apple’s iBeacon technology and a Web-based 360-degree camera, while enhancing a summer league app called, “Seat 140,” which allows fans to follow celebrity and player tweets, Hall said.

The NBA uses the summer league as an R & D proving ground, introducing new products that have ranged from new basketballs to game clocks that measure time to the hundredth of a second, he said.

Samsung is the summer league’s title sponsor under its leaguewide partnership with the NBA, Hall said. Samsung plans to show new monitors, tablets and phones during the 11-day event.

This year, Hall has to make sure that every sign, banner and basketball no longer bears the name of former NBA Commissioner David Stern, and instead displays the name of the new commissioner, Adam Silver.

The arena set-up details are the domain of Hall, a Southern California resident who arrived Tuesday and met Thomas & Mack Center Executive Director Mike Newcomb and his staff. Meanwhile, LeGarie, of San Francisco, usually shows up later in the week and is master schmoozemeister with his vast network of NBA contacts.

Hall said he and LeGarie ran the summer league independently for the NBA from 2004-2006, then worked out an annual, multi-million-dollar, joint-venture agreement with the NBA to put on the event since 2007. Their summer league staff totals 74, including 50 interns, college students who, in the past, have used their summer league experiences to gain jobs with NBA teams, the NBA and athletic shoe companies.

ENHANCING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

The summer league is also beefing up broadcast coverage. Besides NBA-TV broadcasting nightly from Thomas & Mack, former NBA player Rick Fox will host a 30-minute NBA-TV show and ESPN will have a designated broadcast area where it will stage live remotes, Hall said.

In addition, a summer league high of eight teams will broadcast games back to their regional sports networks. Those eight are the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Utah Jazz, Portland Trailblazers, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Washington Wizards.

Plus, more NBA teams are being aggressive in using the summer league to enhance business relationships with sponsors, while also reaching out to season ticket holders, Hall said.

Several Thomas and Mack bar areas are being designated for meet-and-greet hospitality zones for teams, sponsors and businesses to network and cut deals. For example, the Crown Royal bar area is being converted into a hospitality suite for sports company adidas.

The NBA will also stage a board of governors meeting next week, while executives with many teams will descend on Las Vegas to scout players, network with other club officials and meet sponsors.

Tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for kids, 3-12, and seniors, 65 and older. Las Vegas Events, which markets and promotes events in Las Vegas, said the summer league last year had an economic spending impact of $12 million.

Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Follow @BicycleManSnel on Twitter.