???It seemed like a crazy idea, even at the time.
But the Jazz needed a gimmick to drum up support for the team, which had a relativey tepid following during its first few years in Salt Lake City. So during the 1983-1984 season, Utah scheduled 11 "home" games in Las Vegas at the brand-new Thomas and Mack Center, UNLV's home floor.
The experiment came at a time when the Jazz were rumored to be on their way out of Utah. The franchise was surviving payroll to payroll.
It was doomed to fail, though, for a few reasons.
For starters, new NBA commissioner David Stern cringed at the idea of one of his teams playing in a city renowned for its gambling. And even though the thought of traveling to Vegas appealed to some fans - and certainly the players - the lack of a home base prevented the franchise from generating much interest in a home away from home.
The Jazz went 6-5 in 11 Vegas games, but made some gains in establishing the team as an entertaining bunch.
"Playing in Vegas was exciting, but a lot of people said it was a mistake," said Frank Layden, the Jazz coach and General Manager at the time. "They treated us very special there. They rolled out the carpets for us. This was UNLV's homecourt and Jerry Tarkanian was great to us. He couldn't have been nicer to us."
But the reality was the Jazz never caught on in Las Vegas, with more local fans showing up to watch the opposition than to see the "home" team. And the Thomas and Mack crowds were mostly mediocre, save when the city's real adoptive team, the Lakers, made a visit.
But the Jazz's short tenure in Vegas did make some history. The Lakers' Kareem Abdul-Jabbar set the NBA's all-time scoring record against the Jazz at Thomas and Mack. Adrian Dantley also tied Wilt Chamberlain's NBA record for made free throws in a game there with 28.
tjones@sltrib.com
