One of the most annoying things about the Pac-12 basketball tournament is the recalcitrance of Fox Sports Net (TV distributors who own the majority of the tournament) to play it anywhere outside of Staples Center. Unfortunately, it's becoming a bit of an embarrassment for the conference. Staples Center rarely sells out, is stunningly empty for most of the tournament (save maybe the title game, when it's half-full). There's a lot of problems, mainly that the majority of the tournament takes place on a weekday afternoon/Friday night in traffic-challenged LA. Of all the arenas on the West Coast to watch a basketball game, Staples is by far the least commuter friendly.
However, now that the Pac-12 owns the tournament, Commissioner Larry Scott is at least open to the idea of relocation, Bob Condotta reports. And there are some worthy sites. The Rose Garden in Portland, Oracle Arena in Oakland, Key Arena in Seattle, U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City and the Pepsi Center in Denver all are top-notch facilities for a basketball tournament, and at least one of those places should have a conference arena everyone can enjoy. There are definitely places worth exploring, and a rotational model could also work to everyone's advantage.
And if all those fail? There's always Vegas...
Check out a previous discussion of the topic over at the California Golden Blogs.