Thomas & Mack Center

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name=Thomas & Mack Center


nickname=
location=Thomas and Mack Dr Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 89119
opened=1983
owner=University of Nevada, Las Vegas
construction_cost=
contractor=
architect=
tenants=UNLV Runnin' Rebels (1983-"present")
National Finals Rodeo (1984-"present")
Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) (1993-1998)
Las Vegas Flash (RHI) (1994)
Las Vegas Dustdevils (CISL) (1995)
Las Vegas Sting (AFL) (1995)
Las Vegas Gladiators (AFL) (2003-2006)
ArenaBowl (2005-2006)
seating_capacity =Basketball 18,776
Arena Football 16,606
The Thomas & Mack Center is an arena on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The facility was first opened in the summer of 1983. Its primary tenant is the UNLV men's basketball team. It also hosts the National Finals Rodeo annually. The facility also hosted the Las Vegas Thunder of the now defunct International Hockey League. The facility also hosts numerous other events, such as concerts, conventions, boxing cards, MMA cards such as UFC 43 and PRIDE Fighting Championships 32 & 33, and professional wrestling shows such as WWE No Way Out 2001, WWE Vengeance 2005 and WWE No Way Out 2008. Mikhail Gorbachev once spoke in the arena in March of 2004 about his views on current world events. For ring events, the capacity is 19,522; for basketball, the capacity is 18,776.

The facility is named after two prominent Nevada bankers, E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack, who donated the original funds for the feasibility and land studies.

In 2001, a smaller arena, Cox Pavilion, was added to the complex; the two arenas are directly connected (in the picture at right, it is the smaller rectangular building). Cox Pavilion is used for smaller events; its main tenants are the UNLV women's basketball and volleyball programs.

It was the former home of the Arena Football League's Las Vegas Sting and Las Vegas Gladiators. In 2005 and 2006, the arena hosted the Arena Football League's ArenaBowl. And it hosted the 2007 NBA All-Star Game, marking the first time that this game was held in a city without an NBA franchise. For the first time in NBA history, an on-campus college sports arena served as venue of an NBA All-Star Game.

The Thomas and Mack Center had also been an alternate home for the Utah Jazz in the mid-1980s, and was where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain's record for points in a career in 1984. The 1994-95 Big West Conference, 1997-99 Western Athletic Conference and 2000-03 Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournaments were held there as well. The Mountain West Conference basketball tournament returned in 2007.

The FIBA Americas Championships 2007 was held at Thomas & Mack Center from August 22 to September 2.

It was confirmed on 23 January that the center will host the upcoming light heavyweight boxing contest between undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe & reigning ring magazine champion Bernard Hopkins on April 19 2008.

External links

* [http://www.thomasandmack.com Thomas & Mack Center web site]