Not a whole lot has gone right for Pac-12 football in recent years but the conference office may be about to change all that with a big looming decision after this coming season.
More specifically: Viva Las Vegas, Pac-12 After Dark aficionados.
In a statement obtained by the Mercury News on Friday, the league confirmed that they have opted out of their contract to host the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in 2020 and will look at any number of venues to hold one of the marquee events on the football schedule.“The Pac-12 Conference and Levi’s Stadium have agreed to opt out of the final year (2020) of the agreement to hold the Pac-12 Championship Game at the venue.
“At the time the partnership was announced both parties agreed to leave open the option for the Conference to explore other new venues that would become available throughout the region.
“Both organizations have deeply enjoyed their partnership throughout the years and look forward to working closely on this year’s Championship Game, while continuing to discuss the future of the game.”
As Pac-12 sage Jon Wilner points out, there are a number of directions the conference could go now and that includes a return to the home-hosted model that was employed when the Pac-12 first staged a title game back in 2011. But as every fan (and media member) in the league footprint will tell you, that’s far from the most desired outcome and there’s an easy solution for all involved: Sin City.
Namely, the Raiders’ new stadium just off the strip in Las Vegas and a venue conveniently down the road from the arena where the Pac-12 basketball tournament is held every March. Obviously the forthcoming Rams/Chargers stadium in Los Angeles is also a strong option but just about everybody with any sort of opinion knowns that Vegas should top the list by a wide mile.
The Pac-12 hosting the conference title game at Levi’s Stadium has been a monetary success (the report states as much as $1 million per school) but not a public relations one with vast swaths of open seats regardless of who represents the two divisions for the right to play for a big shiny trophy. Almost from the moment the Raiders announced their new stadium plans in Las Vegas there was significant speculation that the Pac-12 could follow them to the desert from the Bay Area and Friday’s news certainly was the first step toward making that a reality.
