Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott announced Tuesday that the Pac-12 Conference Tournament will be held at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas starting next year.
The previous 11 tournaments were held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, but after the contact expired this year, Scott and the Pac-12 CEO Group had a 10-month bidding process for the Pac-12 Tournament.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to create a new, dynamic atmosphere for our schools, our student-athletes and our fans,” Scott said. “Las Vegas is one of the most exciting destinations in the country and with our new partnership with Las Vegas Events, the MGM Grand Garden Arena and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority we expect the stature and energy of the Pac-12 Tournament to continue to flourish.”
The tournament will be contracted to the MGM Grand through 2015.
In addition to the location change, the Pac-12 Tournament games will also be nationally televised on the ESPN, Fox and Pac-12 Networks. ESPN and Fox will rotate the rights to broadcast the tournament championship game, beginning with ESPN next year.
The MGM Grand Garden has been home to sporting events including several famous boxing matches such as Oscar de la Hoya-Floyd Mayweather and Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson. It can seat as many as 16,800 spectators.
On Monday, Scott announced the women’s Pac-12 Tournament will be held at the KeyArena in Seattle and will be played a full week earlier than the men’s tournament.