Columnist Steve Carp: LVCVA seems willing to roll the dice

A YEAR FROM NOW, we won't be having this discussion.

A year from now, we'll be talking about the eighth annual Las Vegas Bowl and its partnership with the new whatchamacallit league, and how that Colorado State-Brigham Young game may be for all the marbles and whatever. It'll be smooth as that new ice Buddy McDonald is putting in at a new rink over on Swenson Street Saturday.

It would be nice to report that things for Las Vegas Bowl VII are smooth as ice. Actually, it's good that they aren't, because it would make for a boring story.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has agreed with the folks in Hawaii, who are staging a Christmas Day bowl doubleheader, to accept the second and third teams from the Western Athletic Conference and do it on Nov. 21, two weeks prior to the final WAC championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium Dec. 5.

From the LVCVA's standpoint, the idea is a good one. Get the WAC's team locked in, get the open-ended opponent committed from the Big Ten or the Pac-10 and let's start selling some tickets and filling some hotel rooms.

The extra two weeks of marketing are important, especially if the LVCVA hopes to lure budget-conscious fans from the Midwest who would get a break on air fares if they can book them 21 days in advance instead of 14 or less.

Plus, the additional two weeks to publicize the game locally will help keep college football in the news. The UNLV basketball season will be under way, the NFL season will be nearing the home stretch at Thanksgiving, there's hockey, high school sports and yes, maybe the NBA will be back in business. That's a lot of competition for publicity and interest.

But what if the WAC team the LVCVA chooses competes in the WAC title game and gets stomped? That won't bode well. Then again, as one football insider said, if the Las Vegas Bowl gets a strong Big Ten team, it won't matter who represents the WAC. A Wisconsin or an Iowa would offset any liability a soundly thrashed WAC opponent would bring to the table.

The safe way would be to see how things shake out and maybe give the WAC championship loser to Hawaii and let the No. 3 WAC team come to Las Vegas. For instance, let's say Utah and Colorado State win their respective divisions and advance to the WAC championship and BYU's the third team. Why not lock up BYU and not have to sweat the details?

Actually, that's exactly what could happen. And we know what BYU did the last time it was here. The Cougars packed Sam Boyd two years ago at the WAC title game and it was a great day for WAC football on a national scale.

Still, the LVCVA may be rolling the dice. And even though it's only a one-shot deal, you'd hate to see the Las Vegas Bowl go backwards.

This is a game that is close to realizing its potential. With the stadium getting upgraded over the next 15 months and the possibility of more money being added to the pot, the Las Vegas Bowl is moving in the right direction. With the right matchup, the attendance record of 21,514 set last year should fall.

Let's hope this year's game doesn't crap out.

archive