The NBA Summer League in Las Vegas has seen attendance at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion "nearly doubled to more than 100,000," and during "what’s usually a slow business month in Las Vegas, Las Vegas Events pegs the total economic impact of last year’s Summer League" at $29.5M, according to Taylor Bern of the LAS VEGAS SUN. The significance of the figure comes with the expectation "that the recent growth isn’t a fluke." Summer League co-Founder Albert Hall said, "This thing just has so many layers to it now that it’s really become not only a big event but a tool for teams to market to their fans, their sponsors and season-ticket holders." Bern noted the Vegas league is "built around the 67 games between 24 teams that mostly consist of rookies and young pros trying to make NBA rosters or impress international scouts." But improvements to the games -- official uniforms, a tournament format and tests of new officiating tech -- "pale in comparison to the environment that’s been created." Hall said, "We needed to create a festival atmosphere to where if people want to watch eight games in one day, they don’t feel like it’s dragging." Bern noted this year, for the first time, 25 games will appear across ESPN TV networks, "while all 67 games will stream on ESPN3 and 30 games will air on NBA TV." Hall said that another attraction for Summer League in Las Vegas has been The Sports Business Classroom, which costs $2,500 and is "'essentially' a training ground for people who want to get into the business of basketball" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 7/5).
TO EACH HIS OWN: Pistons President of Basketball Operations and coach Stan Van Gundy said that he prefers the Orlando Summer League rather than the competing Las Vegas league or Rocky Mountain Revue in Utah. He said, "I like this as a city a lot more than Las Vegas. Utah would probably be the same, but a few less distractions. I think they run a really, really well-organized league in terms of there’s places to practice." He added, "I like the environment for players." Before '12, the Pistons "were regulars" in Vegas, but Van Gundy, the former Magic coach, "decided to continue in Orlando when he took over" in '14 (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/6).
