Big West Conference basketball tournaments moving to new arena in Nevada

Big West Conference officials announced Thursday that the conference’s men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be moving to the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada beginning in March of 2022.

The tournament moved from the Honda Center to Las Vegas this year but no fans were allowed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Officials with the conference announced a new mult-ytear agreement to bring the tournament to the new arena in Nevada.

The $84 million, 6,000 seat Dollar Loan Center will be completed next February, officials said.

Dollar Loan Center will also be home to the Henderson Silver Knights, the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, the Vegas Indoor Football League franchise and the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame.

The 2022 Big West Basketball Championships will be the first first publicly ticketed event in the new facility, according to Big West officials. The five-day tournament will run March 8-12 and include 10 women’s and 10 men’s teams competing for conference titles and automatic bids to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships.

Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly held a joint press conference with Kerry Bubolz, President of the Golden Knights, and Henderson Mayor Debra March in front of a contingent of local representatives and Big West CEO’s and athletic directors at the site.

“The Big West stands for innovation and opportunity and the Dollar Loan Center provides a tremendous, state-of-the-art venue to showcase the Big West, its member institutions and basketball programs,” said Butterly in a statement. “It is a spectacular facility that will become an entertainment hub for the city of Henderson and the Las Vegas valley. A place that I know our student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans will love to be next March. Special thanks to Mayor March and President Bubolz and his team for working with us to elevate our brand and return the Big West to the Silver State.” 

“We are thrilled that the first ever event in our brand new, state-of-the-art community facility in Henderson will be the Big West men’s and women’s basketball championships,” said Bubolz. “The Dollar Loan Center will be home to some of the most exciting entertainment our region has to offer. With the Henderson Silver Knights, our Vegas Indoor Football franchise, the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame and now the Big West basketball championships, we have established a tremendous foundation of affordable, fun and family friendly sports programming at the Dollar Loan Center.”