Big West Ponders Moving Basketball Tournament to Anaheim

Big West officials are exploring moving the conference basketball tournaments back to the Anaheim Convention Center.

Greg Smith, general manager of the convention center, said Wednesday he has held informal talks with conference officials about returning the tournament to Anaheim for the 2000-01 season. The Big West, then the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn., held its conference tournament at the convention center from 1977-82.

Rob Halvaks, the conference’s associate commissioner, said the matter will be discussed at the conference meeting Nov. 1-3. The tournament will be in Reno this season, but a new home is needed because Nevada is moving to the Western Athletic Conference next season.

The Anaheim arena is appealing to Big West officials for many reasons. Its size--7,500 seats--is better suited for the modest crowds the tournament usually draws. It is located near three current Big West schools, with the possibility of other Southern California schools being added to the conference in the near future. Anaheim is also what conference officials call a “destination spot,” with Disney scheduled to open a second theme park in the city in 2001.

The arena has been largely unavailable for sports since a $150-million convention center renovation started in 1997. As a result, corporate meetings and displays typically held in exhibit halls have been shifted to the arena. The renovations are scheduled for completion next year.

“This is a great example of a good use for the facility,” Smith said. “The tournament is too small for the [Arrowhead] Pond. Here, you’d be playing before sellout or near-sellout crowds for the entire tournament.”

The tournament has had a vagabond existence since leaving Anaheim. It was held at the Forum for four seasons, followed by the Long Beach Arena for five seasons and the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas for two seasons. It has been in Reno the last four seasons.

Long Beach State and Boise State are also being considered as sites. There is opposition to Boise among officials at some schools, since Boise State is also attempting to jump to the WAC.

“We’ve asked Greg to put some things on paper so we can share it with our conference members,” Halvaks said.