Las Vegas sports innovator, promoter dies at age 62

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Saturday, July 18, 2009 | 10:28 p.m.

Dennis Finfrock was the ultimate promoter whose ability to see the big picture was invaluable in taking the sports scene in Southern Nevada to another level.

Finfrock, the first executive director of the Thomas & Mack Center in the early 1980s, died Saturday after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. He was 62.

“I have never met a guy in my lifetime who has touched as many people as Dennis,” said Daren Libonati, the current executive director of the Thomas & Mack. “He was so kind, so passionate and so gentle. There are several people in this town who are better off because of him.”

Finfrock worked from 1982 to 1990 as the executive director at the Thomas & Mack Center before being named UNLV’s interim athletic director in 1990. As the athletic director, he was widely accused of being the point man who carried out former President Robert Maxson’s plan to oust then-basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

He left UNLV in 1992 to become vice president of special events and general manager of the MGM Grand Garden. There, he helped the facility become the spot for major boxing cards — Mike Tyson was the venue’s big draw during his prime.

Libonati started as an intern with Finfrock at the Thomas & Mack and followed his mentor to the MGM. “He gave me a chance to learn and grow,” Libonati said.

Finfrock’s legacy will be defined in several ways.

He was part of the group that arranged for the National Finals Rodeo to move from Oklahoma to Las Vegas, helped supervise the construction of the Thomas & Mack and was instrumental in transforming the Silver Bowl — which is now called Sam Boyd Stadium — from a football-only stadium into a multi-use facility.

The Silver Bowl was losing $500,000 annually when Finfrock devised a plan. He convinced casino owner Sam Boyd to donate $1 million for retractable turf for the stadium, which allowed the facility to host concerts and other events after football season, Libonati said.

“There were a lot of key players in this town and he was one of the biggest,” Libonati said.

Finfrock, who always sported a handlebar mustache, got his start as a high school wrestling coach and science teacher. He was Chaparral High’s first coach in 1973 and later started UNLV’s wrestling program.

“He was really good at getting the right kind of kid out for the sport and promoting the sport itself,” said Larry Barnson, Finfrock’s assistant coach at Chaparral. “He was a great motivator.”

Tim Jeffries, who has coached Cimarron High to seven state titles in the past 11 years, moved to Las Vegas to work as Finfrock’s assistant at UNLV. Like Libonati and others, Jeffries also credits Finfrock’s tutelage for impacting his career.

“He has contributed to a lot of young peoples’ lives in a positive manner, including mine, and I am grateful for that,” Jeffries said. “I have a lot of friends who will say the same thing.”

Finfrock, who later served a consultant for arena construction worldwide, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1994.

“Our time on this Earth is very precious and very limited. The things you like to do, take time to do them,” he told the Sun for a 1999 article.

Finfrock gifted his body to the Medical Education & Research Institute of Nevada for research of diseases by UNLV students.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made in his name to the institute. At his request no funeral services will be held.

CORRECTION: Dennis Finfrock was misidentified in a photo that originally was with this story. That photo has been removed and a new photo was added. The Sun regrets the error. | (July 19, 2009)