Below are a list of reasons why the tournament has to stay in Las Vegas.

1. There are only 2 destination cities in the conference area at the end of Winter: Las Vegas and San Diego. The San Diego arena does not allow alcohol sales because it is on campus. The Thomas & Mack is an off-campus facility and thus allows alcohol sales. Let's remember that the conference tournaments are to make the leagues money, not to crown a champion.

2. The MWC tried it in Denver. No fans came.

3. The WAC tried it in Salt Lake City. No fans came. (Beginning to see a pattern?)

4. The WAC tried alternating sites for the tournament, not based on which team won the conference, it was just determined at the beginning of the year. Again, hard to get fans to go to Laramie, Provo, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, etc. Also, those cities would have a problem holding the fans if they came (hotels, restaurants, etc).

5. UNLV winning the tournament is actually pretty new. They didn't win it regularly when it was there before in both the MWC and WAC (I guess part of the time they were on probation, but still).

6. The coaches wanted it back in Vegas after 3 years in Denver. They must like something about Vegas.

Sure, there are a ton of reasons that the tournament could be held somewhere else, but quite frankly Vegas is the best spot for what the conference needs the tournament for: to increase cash flow.

stuckinbig10country wrote:

Below are a list of reasons why the tournament has to stay in Las Vegas.

1. There are only 2 destination cities in the conference area at the end of Winter: Las Vegas and San Diego. The San Diego arena does not allow alcohol sales because it is on campus. The Thomas & Mack is an off-campus facility and thus allows alcohol sales. Let's remember that the conference tournaments are to make the leagues money, not to crown a champion.

2. The MWC tried it in Denver. No fans came.

3. The WAC tried it in Salt Lake City. No fans came. (Beginning to see a pattern?)

4. The WAC tried alternating sites for the tournament, not based on which team won the conference, it was just determined at the beginning of the year. Again, hard to get fans to go to Laramie, Provo, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, etc. Also, those cities would have a problem holding the fans if they came (hotels, restaurants, etc).

5. UNLV winning the tournament is actually pretty new. They didn't win it regularly when it was there before in both the MWC and WAC (I guess part of the time they were on probation, but still).

6. The coaches wanted it back in Vegas after 3 years in Denver. They must like something about Vegas.

Sure, there are a ton of reasons that the tournament could be held somewhere else, but quite frankly Vegas is the best spot for what the conference needs the tournament for: to increase cash flow.

Las vegas just needs an NBA team so that they can have it on a neutral floor.

It does not have to be a campus sight at all. They could play in in cali at the honda center. Take the tourney to Arizona and play at the Suns arena. People will go to those places i would any place but vegas..

Hengst wrote:

stuckinbig10country wrote:

Below are a list of reasons why the tournament has to stay in Las Vegas.

1. There are only 2 destination cities in the conference area at the end of Winter: Las Vegas and San Diego. The San Diego arena does not allow alcohol sales because it is on campus. The Thomas & Mack is an off-campus facility and thus allows alcohol sales. Let's remember that the conference tournaments are to make the leagues money, not to crown a champion.

2. The MWC tried it in Denver. No fans came.

3. The WAC tried it in Salt Lake City. No fans came. (Beginning to see a pattern?)

4. The WAC tried alternating sites for the tournament, not based on which team won the conference, it was just determined at the beginning of the year. Again, hard to get fans to go to Laramie, Provo, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, etc. Also, those cities would have a problem holding the fans if they came (hotels, restaurants, etc).

5. UNLV winning the tournament is actually pretty new. They didn't win it regularly when it was there before in both the MWC and WAC (I guess part of the time they were on probation, but still).

6. The coaches wanted it back in Vegas after 3 years in Denver. They must like something about Vegas.

Sure, there are a ton of reasons that the tournament could be held somewhere else, but quite frankly Vegas is the best spot for what the conference needs the tournament for: to increase cash flow.

Las vegas just needs an NBA team so that they can have it on a neutral floor.

I'm not sure that it being on a neutral floor changes anything. It'd still be 75% UNLV fans

BYUCougs1 wrote:

It does not have to be a campus sight at all. They could play in in cali at the honda center. Take the tourney to Arizona and play at the Suns arena. People will go to those places i would any place but vegas..

Why Phoenix? The MWC doesn't have a team in Arizona, therefore it doesn't make sense. It may not have to be played on a campus site, but I'm sure the MWC gets a better deal from the Thomas & Mack than it would from the Honda Center in California. Again, the goal is to make money, nothing else.

The MWC has two teams in Colorado, with another team just over the border in Wyoming. Still couldn't draw fans to the Pepsi Center. The WAC had two teams in Utah, and the Delta Center was not filling up. Every championship game in Vegas has been near capacity, if not at capacity.

I don't know about that. Playing on a different rim/floor is a big deal. Just ask BYU. If Mich State would have come to the marriott center, I guarantee BYU would have won that game.