SAN FRANCISCO – During the annual preseason media days for Pac-12 basketball, the Pac-12 today announced that the Conference’s end-of-season basketball tournaments for both men’s and women’s basketball, presented by New York Life, will continue in Las Vegas through 2022. The men’s event will remain at T-Mobile Arena, while the women’s tournament will take place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, home of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. For each of the next three seasons, including the 2019-20 campaign, the women’s tournament will continue to be held the week prior to the men’s tournament, creating a true festival of Pac-12 basketball in the destination city. 

“Last season provided a tremendous showcase for our Pac-12 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments taking place in Las Vegas,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “We are thrilled to continue the events at T-Mobile Arena and Mandalay Bay Events Center and to continue working with MGM Resorts and Las Vegas Events to provide the most entertaining experiences for our student-athletes, universities and fans.” 

For the first time last season, the Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament was held in Las Vegas. Following the excitement at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for its first year, this season’s event transitions to the Mandalay Bay Events Center where it will remain through 2022. Propelled by an elite showing of talent across the sport with half of the league’s programs competing in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament has recorded seven of its top eight all-time best attendances in its 18-year history over the last seven seasons. 

George Kliavkoff, president of Entertainment & Sports, MGM Resorts, said, “We are excited to extend our partnership with the Pac-12 Conference for both their men’s and women’s tournaments through 2022. Las Vegas has become an incredible destination for sports lovers—on both the collegiate and professional levels—and we know there is no better location for these events to be held. With some of the nation’s top teams coming from the Pac-12 Conference, MGM Resorts looks forward to offering thrilling college basketball action at both T-Mobile Arena and Mandalay Bay Events Center for the next three years.” 

Now entering its eighth-consecutive season in Las Vegas, the men’s tournament has grown into one of the nation’s most exciting and fan-friendly postseason championship events since moving to the city. As the epicenter for college basketball conference tournaments, with Las Vegas hosting more than any other city in the country, the Pac-12 tournaments for both men’s and women’s basketball are the only to take place on the Las Vegas Strip. Over the past three years of the men’s tournament at T-Mobile Arena, two of the top four most-attended tournaments have taken place. 

“Since 2013, the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament has been an outstanding addition to our March calendar of the events that also includes three additional college conference tournaments,” said LVE President Pat Christenson. “Combining the prestige of the Pac-12 Conference with the power of the Las Vegas brand has created a memorable experience for the attendees, coaches and student-athletes. With the addition of the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament, we look forward to further enhancing this partnership through 2022.” 

Steve Hill, CEO and president of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, said, “We’re thrilled to see the Pac-12 continue to hold both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments here through 2022. It’s exciting to bring such a high caliber event to the destination, and to have the opportunity to welcome and host such a phenomenal group of both athletes and fans.” 

Earlier this year in July, the Pac-12 announced that the Conference’s football championship game, presented by 76®, will also be moving to Las Vegas for a two-year run beginning in 2020 at the new home of the Raiders, Allegiant Stadium. With the move of the football championship game, the Pac-12 will see three of its premiere end-of-season events taking place in Las Vegas in 2020 and 2021, including men’s and women’s basketball through 2022.    

About the Pac-12 Conference

The Conference has a tradition as the “Conference of Champions,” leading the nation in NCAA Championships in 53 of the last 59 years, with 526 NCAA team titles overall. The Conference comprises 12 leading U.S. universities – the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Colorado, the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of Utah, the University of Washington and Washington State University. For more information on the Conference’s programs, member institutions, and Commissioner Larry Scott, go to Pac-12.com/conference.

About Las Vegas Events

Founded in 1983, Las Vegas Events is a private, not-for-profit organization funded by hotel room tax. Through its Signature Event initiative, LVE has created a model to integrate all elements of special events and formally improve communication between event producers and Las Vegas’ hotel properties and sponsors. Since 1991, Las Vegas Events has produced, presented or supported more than 750 events. www.lasvegasevents.com

About MGM Resorts International

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) is an S&P 500® global entertainment company with national and international locations featuring best-in-class hotels and casinos, state-of-the-art meetings and conference spaces, incredible live and theatrical entertainment experiences, and an extensive array of restaurant, nightlife and retail offerings. MGM Resorts creates immersive, iconic experiences through its suite of Las Vegas-inspired brands. The MGM Resorts portfolio encompasses 30 unique hotel and destination gaming offerings including some of the most recognizable resort brands in the industry. Expanding throughout the U.S. and around the world, the company recently acquired the operations of Empire City Casino in New York and MGM Northfield Park. In 2018, MGM Resorts opened MGM Springfield in Massachusetts, MGM COTAI in Macau, and the first Bellagio-branded hotel in Shanghai. The 82,000 global employees of MGM Resorts are proud of their company for being recognized as one of FORTUNE® Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies®. For more information visit us atwww.mgmresorts.com. 

About the LVCVA

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center. With nearly 150,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and more than 11.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA’s mission centers on attracting ever increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. Download the virtual reality app, Vegas VR, to experience Las Vegas from your iPhone or Android by visiting http://www.vrtv.vegas/. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com or www.visitlasvegas.com.