Pac-12 comfortable with move to bigger Las Vegas home
The Pacific 12 Conference loves the neighborhood. But it was looking for a bigger, more modern house.
The success the league has had in Las Vegas since it moved its men’s basketball postseason tournament from Los Angeles in 2013 is undeniable. But when T-Mobile Arena opened last April and the Pac-12 had a chance to move across the street from the MGM Grand Garden, it did so without hesitation.
And as the league prepares to tip off this year’s tournament Wednesday with four first-round games, commissioner Larry Scott does not have buyers’ remorse.
“It was the next leap of faith,” Scott said. “The first leap of faith was when we moved from Staples Center to the MGM and it turned out to be a great move. It was loud and exciting and our fans loved it. But with the move to T-Mobile, we can do so much more for our fans and our corporate partners and make it an even better experience.”
The Pac-12 will take over Toshiba Plaza this week as a place to meet pre- and post-game. There will be interactive basketball activities, food and beverage and appearances by many of the schools’ pep bands and dance teams.
“It’s going to be very festive,” Scott said of what will be re-branded “Pac-12 Plaza” for the week.
Inside, the players will find nicer locker rooms than what they experienced at the Grand Garden and there is a new floor. The lighting, which was always a positive feature for players at the Grand Garden, will be just as bright in T-Mobile, which has staged several basketball events since its opening.
With the move from the Grand Garden to T-Mobile comes the task of selling 5,000 more tickets per session. Scott said the advance sales are very strong and with Oregon, Arizona and UCLA the top three seeds, the weekend figures to sell out. As of Monday, only a limited number of seats remained available for Friday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship game — and those were in the upstairs corners.
“I think there’s always a concern when you have extra seats to sell,” Scott said. “But our fans have responded and we think we have an outstanding event that caters to basketball fans everywhere.”
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
IF YOU GO
What: Pacific 12 Conference men's basketball tournament
When: Wednesday-Saturday
Where: T-Mobile Arena
Wednesday's games: No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Stanford, noon; No. 5 California vs. No. 12 Oregon State, 2:30 p.m.; No. 7 Colorado vs., No. 10 Washington State, 6 p.m.; No. 6 Southern California vs. No. 11 Washington, 8:30 p.m.
TV: Pac-12 Network
Tickets: $30-$48
GROWING IN LAS VEGAS
Since its move to Las Vegas in 2013, the Pacific 12 Conference has enjoyed annual growth with its men's basketball tournament at the MGM Grand Garden, which seated 13,000 for basketball. The Pac-12 is moving to T-Mobile Arena, which seats 18,000, for this year's tournament, which begins Wednesday. Following is a look at the annual overall attendance as well as the average over six sessions from the last year in Los Angeles in 2012 through 2016 in Las Vegas:
(Year, Site, Total Attendance, Avg. Per Season)
— 2012, Staples Center, 63,414, 10,569
— 2013, MGM Grand Garden, 63,750, 10,625
— 2014, MGM Grand Garden, 69,445, 11,574
— 2015, MGM Grand Garden, 70,563, 11,761
— 2016, MGM Grand Garden, 77,496, 12,916
Source: Pacific 12 Conference
