The Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament will "remain in Las Vegas after the current contract with the Thomas & Mack Center expires this season," but where in the city "remains an open question," according to Mark Zeigler of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The tournament has been at Thomas & Mack for 13 years, but the conference will have "alternatives with the opening of an 18,000-seat arena next spring behind the New York-New York casino and hotel that likely will house an NHL franchise one day." The Pac-12, which currently holds its men's tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, "has right of first refusal to move there." Most "expect the Pac-12 to exercise the option, leaving the Mountain West the same choice it faced before the Pac-12 came to Las Vegas: MGM or the Mack?" The MGM "offers neutrality, intimacy and the ability for fans and players to walk through the casino to the arena." But it has about 5,000 fewer seats, and MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson insisted that MGM "may come at a financial cost beyond gate revenue." San Diego State coach Steve Fisher for years has "carried the torch for keeping the tournament in Las Vegas but moving it somewhere, anywhere, away from UNLV’s home arena." He is "part of a six-person site evaluation committee -- three coaches, three athletic directors -- that toured the various arenas over the summer and will make a recommendation to the conference’s ADs later this year" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 10/15).
