Spotlight: Hoop City

Vegas Owns Summer Basketball

And all destination basketball events.

Throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, youth basketball tournaments exploded in Las Vegas. More than 1,200 teams annually, featuring the top players in the country, competed in front of college and NBA coaches each summer.

Before 2004, the NBA Summer League was played in gyms to less than 1,000 fans. That year, Albert Hall and Warren LeGarie brought it to Las Vegas. The first year it drew less than 5,000. Today, more than 135,000 tickets are sold for the summer showcase. The WAC and MWC have hosted their annual tournaments in Las Vegas since the late 1990’s. In 2009, they were joined by the WCC and in 2013 the Pac12 Conference joined the fold.

Since 2006, Las Vegas has been home to USA Basketball. In 2007, the NBA All-Star game was hosted here. In 2019, the Mandalay Bay Events Center hosted the WNBA All-Star Game and G-League Showcase. Las Vegas is “Hoops City.” But it did not get there organically. As Las Vegas grew and evolved as an event destination, so did the sophistication of the hotels and how they partner with promoters to enhance the fan experience. In addition, in the past 15 years, Las Vegas has added and renovated many of its award-winning venues.

Las Vegas Events connects the dots to ensure basketball continues to grow and evolve.

LeBron James, among others, has been instrumental in the resurgence of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team.

The Orleans Arena has hosted the West Coast Conference basketball tournament since 2009.

The Pac-12 Conference Basketball Championships are a huge draw at T-Mobile Arena. “In 2009, the WCC basketball tournament moved to Las Vegas. LVE’s support and partnership have allowed the WCC to play on a global stage to sellout crowds who enjoy returning to Las Vegas year after year. LVE has been integral in helping us provide them the excellent experience they have come to expect.”

- Gloria Nevarez, Commissioner, West Coast Conference

“We first established Las Vegas as the domestic training camp home for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team in 2006. Las Vegas offers USA Basketball a perfect setting for our training and exhibition games and we couldn’t be more pleased with our experiences there.”

- Jerry Colangelo, Managing Director, USA Basketball Men’s National Team