The Orleans Arena will host the WCC Tournament through 2025

September 7, 2022 4:04 PM

Vincent Saglimbeni,

Posted: September 7, 2022 4:04 PM

by Vincent Saglimbeni

SAN MATEO, Calif.— The West Coast Conference Tournament will stay at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas through 2025.

The WCC and Boyd Gaming announced a contract extension to keep the men’s and women’s tournaments at Orleans Arena for the next few years. The relationship between the two sides began in 2009.

The 2023 tournament will take place from March 2-7. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“Our goal is to put on a world-class conference tournament, both in terms of the student-athlete experience and fan engagement,” said WCC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez. “We are excited to extend this valuable partnership with The Orleans and Boyd Gaming that brings together the combination of an outstanding venue with elite basketball. The Orleans and Boyd Gaming have proven to be excellent partners for over a decade.”

The WCC Tournament was the first conference to have a neutral site for the tournament. The WCC tournament has been sold out each year and has been nationally televised. The women’s championship game is shown on ESPN networks and the quarterfinal through the championship rounds of the men’s tournament are on ESPN networks.

More than a million people watched the men’s WCC championship game each of the last two years. The women’s championship game saw a 30 percent increase of viewers.

“We are honored to continue our fantastic partnership with the West Coast Conference,” said Tyler Baldwin, Executive Director of the Orleans Arena. “Over the past 15 years, the WCC, Orleans Arena and Boyd Gaming have created one of college basketball’s most exciting and intimate tournament experiences, leading the way for Las Vegas’ emergence as a tournament destination. We look forward to hosting WCC fans and students for three more years of unforgettable championship basketball at the Orleans Arena.”

There were three teams in the 2022 men’s WCC tournament that made it to the NCAA tournament last year. The Gonzaga Bulldogs won the tournament for the third straight year in a row before losing to Arkansas in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament. Saint Mary’s made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year, and USF competed in its first NCAA tournament since 1998.

Two teams from the WCC women’s tournament played in the NCAA tournament last year. The Zags beat Nebraska in the first round of the NCAA tournament before losing to Louisville, who played in the Final Four.