Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Thomas & Mack 25th Anniversary

  • Charlie Daniels.
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  • Las Vegas Sun Sports Editor Ray Brewer, his son Nicholas and his father John Brewer watch the UNLV basketball team play Arizona State on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013, at the Thomas & Mack Center.
    Thomas & Mack: More than just an arena, it's a place where Las Vegas families create traditions
    The goal of the evening was simple: Introduce a new generation in my family to UNLV basketball. That’s what we native Las Vegans do with our children. We bring them to the Thomas & Mack Center for a taste of one of the highlights of our youth, hoping they will also get a case of Runnin’ Rebel fever. It’s a rite of passage, a baptism of sorts in cheering for a basketball program that’s near and dear to our hearts.
  • Hey Reb and the UNLV cheerleaders perform before their game against UC Santa Barbara Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013 at the Thomas & Mack Center.  UC Santa Barbara won the game 86-65.
    Sharing Thomas & Mack memories
    The Las Vegas Sun asked readers to share their favorite memories from the Thomas & Mack's 30 year history. Here are some of their responses.
  • Here are the Thomas & Mack events and trivia you need to impress the guy behind you in the beer line
    A look at major events in Thomas & Mack history, plus some facts about the center.
  • A view of the concourse at the Thomas & Mack Center Tuesday, April 30, 2013.
    With 30 years under its belt, Thomas & Mack slated for $60 million in upgrades
    Since it opened, the Thomas & Mack Center has become one of the most storied and successful collegiate venues in the country. As the Mack celebrates its 30th birthday, UNLV officials are taking stock of their arena, celebrating its successes so far but also looking toward its future.
  • Former UNLV head basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian smiles after a statue of him was unveiled in front of the Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013.
    The Top 10 moments in the Thomas & Mack’s 30-year history
    As today marks the 30th anniversary of the Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV, we honor the Las Vegas landmark with a Top 10 list of memorable moments at the T&M.
  • UNLV head coach Jerry Tarkanian coaches his final game with the Rebels at UNLV, a 65-53 win over Utah State on Tuesday, March 3, 1992.
    Happy Birthday to the Mack: Here are 10 memorable UNLV games we're still celebrating
    Whether the UNLV basketball team was playing a nationally televised game or a run-of-the-mill foe, locals flocked to the Thomas & Mack Center for the best show in a city known for its over-the-top productions.
  • Julio Cesar Chavez and Oscar de la Hoya, left, exchange punches during their World Boxing Council Welterweight Championship bout at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Friday, Sept. 18, 1998.
    The biggest fights at the Thomas & Mack Center and how they got there
    Because of the building’s reputation for holding events across such a wide spectrum of categories, many tend to gloss over its fight history. To others, however, the bouts have more than secured their place in the Thomas & Mack’s lore.
  • A photo depicts Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's sky hook that set the NBA all-time scoring record in a game between the Lakers and the Utah Jazz played at the Thomas & Mack Center on April 5, 1984.
    No. 1: A sky hook for the history books
    Improbably, the Los Angeles Lakers and Abdul-Jabbar were playing against Utah in a Las Vegas “home” game for the Jazz. The Jazz weren’t faring so well in Salt Lake City, so its brass decided to play 11 games in Las Vegas during the 1983-84 season. A crowd of 18,389 – mostly Lakers fans – gathered to witness history.
  • A preview poster from UNLV's 1989-90 basketball season shows Rebels Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson posing with the help of a picturesque Las Vegas sunset in the background.
    No. 2: Capping off a dream season
    They were 16-0 in their building when Louisville visited Las Vegas, so a victory over the Cardinals would give UNLV its best home season in its 7-year-old arena. It was the only season in which more than 300,000 fans packed the Mack, and they saw history in the making.
  • No. 3: NFR is Thomas & Mack's cash cow
    To say that the National Finals Rodeo has become the Thomas & Mack Center's cash cow is putting it literally, not mildly. There's nothing mild about the NFR.
  • No. 4: U2 plays tribute show after 9/11
    The audience swayed to the classic-rock house music, and when the familiar guitar intro to “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” kicked in, whoever was manning the volume jacked it up past nine, to 11, and out marched the band whose soaring live performance would certainly pay tribute to the still-wrenching tragedy. As the band charged into “Elevation,” the lights stayed up, almost to the song’s end as fans bounced and roared. Maybe America wasn’t quite “back,” but U2 was.
  • No. 5: Rebels ship Robinson, Navy home
    An audience of 20,321, described as a “fire-hazard crowd” by the Sun in a building that seats 18,500, still stands as the seam-busting record.
  • No. 6: Team USA calls Las Vegas home
    When the U.S. national basketball team won gold in Beijing in August, it owed plenty to Las Vegas.
  • No. 7: NBA playoffs shift to the Mack amidst L.A. riots
    Emotions were mixed for the Los Angeles Lakers as they headed east for a 'home' playoff game on May 3, 1992. Trailing 2-1 in a best-of-five first round series with the top-seeded Portland Trailblazers, Game Four was moved from riot-riddled L.A. to Las Vegas. Both teams sat around between games Three and Four while Los Angeles burned in the wake of the verdict from the Rodney King beating trial.
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