The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas is expected to announce tomorrow a two-year agreement to host the Western Athletic Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments beginning in 2011, giving the conference its first neutral site for the event.

A spokesman for Boyd Gaming, which owns the Orleans, declined comment except to say a major announcement was expected tomorrow. WAC commissioner Karl Benson refused to "confirm or deny" the tie-in.

In April the Orleans was announced as the home for the WAC women's volleyball championship this November.

Soon after, WAC basketball coaches toured the 9,000-seat Orleans facility during their annual meetings. The site was discussed by the WAC athletic directors and presidents.

The move to the Orleans will give the WAC its first true neutral facility in the 26-year history of the tournament. The closest the WAC has come to playing its tournaments at a neutral site was in 1994 when the Delta Center in Salt Lake City was the host. It was at that facility, a few miles from the University of Utah's home court, that the UH men won their first tournament title, defeating Brigham Young in the championship game.

The 2010 WAC Basketball Tournament will be held in Reno, Nev. UH has not hosted the conference basketball tournament in its 30 years of membership.

The move to Las Vegas comes at a time when the WAC has sought to relocate its major championships to "central" locations to save on travel. Last month the WAC announced its baseball tournament will move to Mesa, Ariz., for three years, beginning in 2010.

Boyd Gaming also owns the California Hotel, a platinum sponsor of UH athletics. Former UH men's basketball coach Riley Wallace is an executive host for Boyd Gaming.