The draw of Las Vegas as a basketball community continues to grow, with another NCAA conference announcing it will hold its basketball championship tournament in the city in 2011 and 2012.

The Western Athletic Conference will hold its championship games at the Orleans Arena, joining the West Coast Conference which also hosts its tournament at the Orleans, and the Mountain West, which plays at the Thomas and Mack. Another tournament will up the madness in March for Las Vegas.

The biggest draws for the the WAC will likely be the University of Nevada-Reno and Hawaii. The Hawaii connection is not something that was overlooked by Boyd Gaming. The owner of the Orleans has a strong relationship with the Hawaiian community, but that wasn’t the only attraction for Boyd.

“We do have a contingent from Hawaii who like to visit this property and there will be a block of rooms to accommodate them,” said Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith.

“I would say it wasn’t about Hawaii, it was about the event and bringing the event both to the Orleans and the town. Our chairman Bill Boyd and myself are huge college basketball fans so anything we can do to bring another tournament to town, we’re all in, as they say.”

The WAC also plans to hold its 2009 volleyball tournament at the Orleans Arena in November.

“We are excited to build on our relationship with the WAC by hosting their championship basketball tournaments,” said Darren Davis, executive director of the Orleans Arena. “As we say last year, these tournaments are a significant tourism draw for our community and we are excited to welcome another major conference in Las Vegas.”

There are still some details that are being worked out, such as whether the Orleans will be allowed to book action on any of the games. That information, along with ticket prices and purchasing information, will be announced at a later date.