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HISTORY OF THE IAS VEGAS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT m Six years ago the City Recreation Department and the Las Vegas Review-Journal inaugu- rated the Southwestern Invitational Basketball Tournament with invitations being extended to the Nation's top AAU basketball teams to compete, ?╟ Hie three day Tournament has been scheduled annually on the second weekend in Feb?╟÷ ruary ?╜* Thursday^ Friday and Saturday?? Each succeeding year the event has grown in scope and today it has gained the repu- tation of being one of the finest amateur basketball Tournaments in the United States. The games have taken on such importance that several of the teams have had their game broadcast back to their city and the Canadian team filmed their game and later televxsed the games in Canada. Last year the Tournament was won by the Denver-Chicago Truckers and second place went to the McDonald Scots team from Lake Charles5 Louisxana. The United States Mr Force team from Washington, D.C. was also one of the 1959 participating teams, coming to our Tournament just after playing in the World Basketball Tournament in Santiago, Chile, This was the that caused so much controversy when the USAF lost to the Russians. With such phenomenal growth and wide spread interest in our Las Vegas Tournament and in view of its future potential our Basketball Board realizing that it is an outstanding event for our city offering excellent nationwide publicity, agreed that more adequate sponsorship than the Review-Journal and the City Recreation Department was needed. The following teams have indicated that they are extremely interested in receiving invitations to participate in our Tournamentg Peoria Caterpillars, Peoria, Illinoisj Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio 3 Wichita Vickers, Wichita Kansas j Buchan Bakers, Seattle, Washington! Quantieo Marines, Quantise, Virginia| Phillips w66?½ Oilers, Bartlesville, Oklahoma and many others if their schedules permit. The Basketball Tournament Board was also aware that teams representing such sound manufacturing industries across the nation playing in Las Vegas could feasibly cause them to consider our city as a convention site. With this in mind certain members of the Board had an occasion to discuss the future of the event with Mr. Moe Dalitz, pointing out that with all of the above values of the Tournament, the paramount objective was to raise the standard of basketball in Southern Nevada. Each year all of the area's high school varsity and junior varsity teams are guests of the Tournament. It has been and should continue "to be truly a community project. l&V Dalitz was immediately impressed with the j&ojeet and agreed to sponsor it at a cost of $28,000.00 the first year and $10,000.(39 eaSfc year thereafter. The first year's cost to include a new portable hardwood basketball floor, portable basketball goals and four-sided electrie scoreboard. He requested that since it has been and should continue to be a community project that it should be administered entirely by the same Basketball Board and that all profits be given to the United Fund. It was not Mr. Dalitz* s idea or suggestion that the future Tournaments be known as the STARDUST INVITATION BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT* It was the decision of the Board, feeling that if a person puts up money in that amount that they should receive some benefits. Everything seemed to be going well but a problem arose when objections were voiced from some of the other hotels relative to the use of the Las Vegas Convention Center as tile site for future Tournaments ?½ It ms agreed by the Stardust that after the I960 Tourna** ment that the floor, goals and scoreboard would be available to other basketball attrac- tions wishing to use them under the policies of the County Fair and Recreation Board.