Mountain West keeping basketball tourneys in Las Vegas
February 15, 2013 - 2:43 pm
The Mountain West announced that its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments are staying in Las Vegas through 2016.
The league’s board of directors approved a three-year extension to continue holding the tournaments at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Las Vegas has served as the host site for the Mountain West tourneys from 2000 to 2003 and 2007 to the present. This season’s tournament runs March 12 to 16.
“Las Vegas is a destination city and in recent years has become a hotbed for NCAA basketball,” Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said.
The Pac-12 moved its conference championships from the Staples Center in Los Angeles to the MGM Grand Garden this year. The Pac-12 tourney is March 13 to 16.
The Western Athletic and West Coast conferences also have their tournaments in Las Vegas. The WCC moved its tournament here in 2009 and the WAC in 2011. This season’s WCC tourney is March 6 to 11, and the WAC tourney is March 12 to 16, both at The Orleans.