Big West Tournament Moves to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas
12/23/2020 2:52:00 PM | General, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
Conference Relocates Basketball Championships set for March 9-13
The Big West Conference office announced Wednesday it will move its upcoming men's and women's 2021 Conference Tournaments for basketball to Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The tournaments will be held from March 9-13.
All games, spanning from first-round action on Tuesday through the title games scheduled for Saturday evening, will be carried across WatchESPN's platforms.
Also announced Wednesday, every team in the standings will qualify for each of the tournaments, which are sponsored by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.
"We are very appreciative of our partners at Honda Center who agreed to allow us to relocate the Big West Basketball Championships (from Anaheim)," commissioner Dan Butterly said. "bdG Sports and MGM Resorts International will provide a bubble-like setting that includes significant proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the virus and safeguard the health and safety of all teams competing."
The Big West will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and the possibility of allowing limited crowds at the event. An official determination on attendance limits, spectator health and safety protocols, and ticket pricing will be made in the near future.
Mandalay Bay Events Center also plays host to the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. bdG Sports, in conjunction with MGM Resorts, will assist in managing the championships and administer a comprehensive health and safety plan for the event including use of an on-site medical center conducting both rapid antigen and PCR tests.
All student-athletes, coaches and staff will be provided daily screenings and testing in accordance with NCAA recommendations, state and county restrictions, and contact tracing. Competitors also will be able to safely walk from their Mandalay Bay hotel rooms to the venue to compete in the championships without outside contact.
"Mandalay Bay provides the ideal campus in which to create a safe 'stay-and-play' environment for all 19 Big West teams," said Brooks Downing, president and CEO of bdG Sports, the company that has managed NCAA basketball games and tournaments in Las Vegas since 2013. "After running two separate bubbles with success in both Las Vegas and Southwest Florida to start the season, we can implement our best practices as well as the same testing and safety protocols to assist commissioner Butterly and his team at the Big West Conference in delivering two conference champions in March that are ready to move on to the NCAA Tournament."
Additional safety protocols include dedicated meeting-room space for each team, as well as sanitization of shared spaces such as on-site practice facilities, locker rooms, staff rooms, training areas and scorer's table surfaces between each use.
Team benches will be split into three appropriately distanced rows. Benches, basketballs and shared-use areas, such as media tables, will be sanitized at the start of each day and immediately upon the completion of each game.
All games, spanning from first-round action on Tuesday through the title games scheduled for Saturday evening, will be carried across WatchESPN's platforms.
Also announced Wednesday, every team in the standings will qualify for each of the tournaments, which are sponsored by the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.
"We are very appreciative of our partners at Honda Center who agreed to allow us to relocate the Big West Basketball Championships (from Anaheim)," commissioner Dan Butterly said. "bdG Sports and MGM Resorts International will provide a bubble-like setting that includes significant proactive measures to mitigate the impact of the virus and safeguard the health and safety of all teams competing."
The Big West will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and the possibility of allowing limited crowds at the event. An official determination on attendance limits, spectator health and safety protocols, and ticket pricing will be made in the near future.
Mandalay Bay Events Center also plays host to the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces. bdG Sports, in conjunction with MGM Resorts, will assist in managing the championships and administer a comprehensive health and safety plan for the event including use of an on-site medical center conducting both rapid antigen and PCR tests.
All student-athletes, coaches and staff will be provided daily screenings and testing in accordance with NCAA recommendations, state and county restrictions, and contact tracing. Competitors also will be able to safely walk from their Mandalay Bay hotel rooms to the venue to compete in the championships without outside contact.
"Mandalay Bay provides the ideal campus in which to create a safe 'stay-and-play' environment for all 19 Big West teams," said Brooks Downing, president and CEO of bdG Sports, the company that has managed NCAA basketball games and tournaments in Las Vegas since 2013. "After running two separate bubbles with success in both Las Vegas and Southwest Florida to start the season, we can implement our best practices as well as the same testing and safety protocols to assist commissioner Butterly and his team at the Big West Conference in delivering two conference champions in March that are ready to move on to the NCAA Tournament."
Additional safety protocols include dedicated meeting-room space for each team, as well as sanitization of shared spaces such as on-site practice facilities, locker rooms, staff rooms, training areas and scorer's table surfaces between each use.
Team benches will be split into three appropriately distanced rows. Benches, basketballs and shared-use areas, such as media tables, will be sanitized at the start of each day and immediately upon the completion of each game.
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