The Pac-10 tournament is moving

The Pac-10 tournament was played in Eugene, OR at the famous UO McArthur Court the first year. Since then, the tournament has been in the HP Pavilion.

But off we go! After six years at the “neutral” and convenient San Jose arena, the tournament will move to Los Angeles.

I and other representatives of your Fast Break Club have learned:

• The LA contracts are for two years
• Wilshire Grand is the headquarters hotel
• Women play in USC’s Galen Center (10,200 capacity, pictured above)
• Men play in Staples
• The distance between the two venues is 3 or 4 miles
• The men’s and women’s schedules overlap some, but not entirely so that attendees can go from one to the other—attracting both the die hard university fan and gender-specific sport fan
• Hotel space is tight already
  

We suggested Pac-10 arrange a shuttle between venues and hope that Stanford will negotiate with a hotel for a group rate. I’m sure we’ll hear about this and other features of the tournament as the March 12-15, 2009 date draws near.

The Pac-10 Conference is, of course, hoping that we plan to attend and can do something to encourage others to as well.

In the meantime, let's enjoy tomorrow's game at HP Pavilion!