Big West moving basketball tourney to new Vegas-area arena – Chron

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) The Big West Conference is moving its mens and womens basketball tournaments to a new arena outside Las Vegas beginning next March.

The league said Thursday that the 6,000-seat Dollar Loan Center in Henderson will host the event for the next three years. The $84 million arena will be completed in February.

The Big West Tournament will run March 8-12, featuring 10 mens and womens teams vying for the leagues automatic berths to the NCAA Tournaments.

UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center hosted the event in 1994 and 95 before it moved to Reno from 1996 to 2000. This year's tournament was played at the arena inside the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. It wasn't played in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tournament was played at two different locations in Anaheim, California, from 2001 to 2019.

The Dollar Loan Center will be home to the AHL's Henderson Silver Knights, a minor league affiliate of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights; the Vegas Indoor Football League franchise; and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

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Big West moving basketball tourney to new Vegas-area arena - Chron