WCC tournaments could be Vegas-bound
The West Coast Conference is exploring the possibility of holding its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments at a neutral site in Las Vegas, possibly as early as 2009.
“We’ve always, in a perfect world, thought a neutral site is preferable for the obvious reasons,” WCC commissioner Michael Gilleran said, “but it has to be the right neutral site and we haven’t found one in the past. Maybe we’ve found one now.”
Gilleran stressed that no commitments have been made. The site under consideration is the Orleans Arena, which seats more than 7,000. The WCC held conference meetings in Las Vegas in June and WCC and school administrators had a close-up look at the facility.
“Without getting into any numbers, I like the people at the Orleans,” Gilleran said. “They’re very professional and it’s a very attractive site. As a starting point, that gets us to the place where we now want to see if the numbers make sense.”
The WCC has held its basketball tournaments at pre-determined sites on two-year rotations, recently completing a two-year run in the Northwest (Portland in 2007, Gonzaga in 2006). This year’s tournaments are at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego.
Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth endorses the Las Vegas proposal over the current method. Despite winning or sharing seven straight WCC regular-season men’s titles, Gonzaga has often encountered lower-seeded opponents’ on their home courts in the conference tournament. GU has won eight of the last nine WCC tournaments while enjoying a home-court advantage only once (2006).
“It was fine when we hosted up here,” Roth said, “but when it’s somebody that isn’t in first place … they gain a significant advantage (hosting the tournament) they haven’t earned.”
Gilleran said a subcommittee of the WCC’s executive committee has been exchanging figures with Orleans officials. If the numbers work out, the executive committee and WCC presidents would have to give their approval to finalize an agreement.
“Thus far, (WCC presidents) have given their blessing to us exploring it,” Gilleran said. “They are the ultimate decision-makers.”
The Orleans Arena, which opened in 2003, has hosted everything from Monster Truck shows to arena football. The arena will host the Toyota Las Vegas Invitational in November, an eight-team men’s basketball tournament that includes North Carolina and Louisville. Kansas and Florida played for the tournament title last season. The Orleans Hotel and Casino sits about 1 1/2 miles from the Las Vegas Strip.
“The size (of the Arena) is right for us,” Gilleran said. “I realize it’s near a casino, but it’s not in a casino. That’s a distinction with a difference. You can drive up and park in a free parking space and you can walk into the arena without setting foot in a casino.”
If an agreement can’t be reached with the Orleans Arena, Gilleran anticipates the 2009 WCC tournaments would return to San Diego.