By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
One was the public address announcer voice of UNLV sports for more than half a century, while the other worked behind the scenes to promote sports through the development of UNLV’s sports venues and the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.
News came down Wednesday that UNLV PA announcer Dick Calvert and Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson are stepping away from their longtime jobs in Las Vegas sports.
Calvert, a former minor league baseball player and Dodgers scout who became known as the “Voice of the Rebels,” decided to step away from game announcing. In Las Vegas, Calvert was well-known for his public address work of calling men’s basketball and football games for UNLV and many other sports events like the NBA Summer League. “After six decades, 52 years, about 5,000 games and events, and at 86 years of age, I believe it’s time to drop the mic and step away from UNLV game announcing for some fresh young talent,” Calvert said.
Meanwhile, Christenson will retire on Dec. 31, 2023 as president of Las Vegas Events, the promotional arm of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Christenson, a former NCAA wrestling titlist at the University of Wisconsin in 1976, took the job as LVE president in 2001 after working 18 years recruiting programming for UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center and Sam Boyd Stadium.
Christenson was a driving force behind making the National Finals Rodeo a main sports attraction in December and a sellout during its 10-day annual run at Thomas & Mack Center. The goal will be to hire a new Las Vegas Events president prior to the NFR this year, and then have Christenson in a consultant role through 2023.
I did my time. I worked with UNLV with the venues. I worked with Las Vegas Events. Both of them were pretty intense. You’re always working on something — retiring Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson
While Calvert was doing public address announcing at UNLV, Christenson was booking events at Thomas & Mack and Sam Boyd. From 1983-1992, the venues run by UNLV were arguably the two most successful collegiate venues in the country. Christenson booked every event that toured the country, averaging 175 events per year in both venues. By 1990, both venues were solvent, had completed $15 million worth of improvements and amassed a sizeable reserve.
Through the years, Calvert was PA voice of many sports around Las Vegas besides working at UNLV’s events. He was the game announcer for many college conference tournaments, the Las Vegas Bowl, the NBA Vegas Summer League, the FIBA Americas tournament, the USA Basketball Senior Men’s National Team and the Las Vegas 51s baseball team (previously the Stars and now the Aviators).