The Pac-12 "will move" its men's basketball tournament from the 12,916-seat MGM Grand Garden to the 18,500-seat T-Mobile Arena in '17, with the three-year deal running through '19, according to Steve Carp of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. The Pac-12 moved the event to Las Vegas from L.A. in '13 and "immediately saw a dramatic increase in attendance." This year, for the "first time in the history of the event, it sold out the entire tournament before opening day." Carp noted the "heightened demand no doubt was a key factor in making the move to T-Mobile, which will have 5,500 additional seats but can be scaled down to a smaller capacity." The other motive is that T-Mobile "will be a state-of-the-art facility with an infrastructure that will allow the Pac-12 to better run its event." With suites and club seats, the conference can "cater to its corporate sponsors and university presidents in a first-class fashion." The Grand Garden "does not have luxury boxes or club seating" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/12). In Las Vegas, Ron Kantowski wrote the Pac-12 "is a big boy league, and the T-Mobile is a big boy arena." That is why this "was a marriage that was bound to happen." The reaction of most Pac-12 fans was that maybe they will "miss the everything-under-one-roof convenience, but so long as the tournament is staying in Las Vegas, all is right with the world" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 3/13).
OLD GUARD: In Winston-Salem, Scott Hamilton wrote everything "felt right" about the ACC men's basketball tournament being held at the Verizon Center in DC instead of Greensboro, N.C. It also "helps when you're surrounded by familiar things," such as North Carolina and Virginia playing in the title game. This was the "second time in 11 years" the tournament was played in DC, though this time it "was more about easing the continuing trek into a brave, new world than appeasing" former ACC member Maryland. Hamilton: "This was a coming-out party, not an obligatory house call" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 3/13).
SIZING UP THE COMPETITION: In Orlando, Matt Murschel noted the first two days of the AAC men's basketball tournament at Amway Center in Orlando drew an "average number of fans -- more than 15,000 combined -- but officials are overall pleased with what they've seen, especially considering some of the limitations in place." Central Florida Sports Commission interim Commissioner Mike Stone acknowledged that the tournament has "competed with a lot of activities in the area," including an Orlando City SC game against the Fire on Friday night (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 3/12).
