Former BYU lineman — and Las Vegas sports 'visionary' — dies
Dennis Finfrock lettered only one season, 1969, at BYU, but he went on to be a major player in the Las Vegas sports community. He died Saturday at age 62. Below is an article on Finfrock from the Yuma Sun.
Finfrock, Vegas sports visionary, dies at 62
Yuma High graduate battled Parkinson’s for past 13 years
BY JAMES GILBERT, SUN STAFF WRITER
While in his senior year at Yuma High School in 1965, Dennis Finfrock’s guidance counselor told him that, based on his grades – which were C’s and D’s at the time – he was probably going to be a truck driver or heavy machinery operator.
“That really motivated my father. He obviously got the message,” son Jason Finfrock said. “Little did that counselor know he had a visionary. My father believed he could do so much more, so he got his act together.”
Finfrock went on to become the first executive director of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas and will be remembered as one of the most influential business leaders in the city’s sports and entertainment industry.
He died on Saturday morning from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 62. Finfrock was born June 25, 1947, in Yuma. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Kay, and son Jason, 40, the associate marketing director of the Thomas & Mack Center, and a brother, Scott Finfrock, of Wellton.
“He started from humble beginnings. He grew up in a small city. He always made time for people, and he did it from the heart,” Jason said. “He is going to be missed, but his legacy will live on.”
Finfrock, who will be remembered by family and friends for his innovative decisions, had battled Parkinson’s for more than 13 years before dying at a long-term care center in Henderson, Nev.
Finfrock’s innovative thinking is credited for bringing more than $1 billion into the Southern Nevada economy.
But becoming one of the Clark Country’s most noted authorities on arena and stadium design and management could not have been more off the radar for Finfrock, who originally started his career off as a high school teacher and coach.
After graduating from Yuma High, Finfrock attended Arizona Western College, where he also became a two-sport star, excelling in Greco-Roman wrestling and football.
Finfrock was the Arizona Junior College Champion of the 191-pound division in wrestling and was elected to the first team All-Conference team as a defensive end in football while at AWC.
All of Finfrock’s hard work, both in the classroom and on the field, eventually paid off, earning him a full scholarship to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.
A three-year member of the BYU football team, Finfrock graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology, with minors in botany and physical education.
Finfrock then moved to Las Vegas and went on to become a teacher and coach at Rancho and Chaparral high schools. In addition to teaching biology and Earth science, Finfrock was the head wrestling coach at both schools.
While at BYU, Finfrock was an honorable mention on the All-Western Athletic Conference football team and was also on the Academic All-Conference team.
“He not only got it done in the classroom, but on the field as well,” Jason said. “That is how he lived his life.”
In 1974, Finfrock got his master’s degree in biology from Northern Arizona University. Two years later he began his career at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as the head coach of the wrestling program, and in 1980 he became an assistant athletic director.
As assistant athletic director at UNLV, Finfrock was known for his dedication to academics, athletes and his local community, which quickly led to him taking on the executive position at the school’s new arena, the Thomas & Mack Center.
About six months before the arena opened and after being named its director, Finfrock realized that for the arena to be financially successful it needed to be reconstructed as a multiuse facility rather than a basketball-only venue.
Finfrock quickly got the state Legislature to invest about $200,000 to remove the first nine rows of seats at both ends of the arena to make room for retractable seating.
He thought by doing so, and using portable seating for basketball games, it would open up the arena for other types of activities and entertainment promoters.
Jason said his dad’s decision, which was a risky call that could have cost him his career, proved to be monumental in the success of the Thomas & Mack Center, which continually ranks in the top 10 of highest grossing arenas.
Finfrock took another gamble in 1983, moving his focus to the Silver Bowl football stadium, which at the time was losing $500,000 annually. Needless to say it soon became a money-maker also.
He got the late Sam Boyd to contribute $1.2 million to install removable artificial turf at the stadium that now bears Boyd’s name.
As with the Thomas & Mack gamble, Finfrock envisioned multiple uses for the football stadium but knew he had to have a protected playing surface for the Rebels.
He found a one-of-a-kind retractable turf, that once installed would allow the stadium to hold diverse events. The retractable roll of material enabled the stadium to begin a lucrative tradition of hosting supercross motorcycle races and monster truck shows, which are among the two best attended events of the year at the former Silver Bowl.
During his nine years as the executive director of the Thomas & Mack Center, Finfrock built a successful team and arena. He was also a member of the group that orchestrated the move of the National Finals Rodeo from Oklahoma to Las Vegas.
To this day the rodeo, along with other annual events, brings in huge revenues to the city. It was one of the first moves that solidified the arena as a strip partner and an important community treasure.
Finfrock was named interim athletic director of UNLV in 1991.
However, for all Finfrock did to develop the Thomas & Mack, Sam Boyd Stadium and, later, the MGM Grand Garden into major sports and entertainment venues, he received his most media attention as UNLV’s interim athletic director, when he became embroiled in the controversy that resulted in the resignation of popular Rebels basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.
The resignation came one year after the Rebels won the NCAA championship, with the program mired in violations and with players having alleged ties to a convicted sports fixer.
Finfrock resigned after 15 months as athletic director, but it wasn’t very long before he was back at what he became best known for.
When the MGM decided to build a sports and entertainment center in 1992, it turned to Finfrock to oversee construction and develop it into a major venue.
As the vice president of special events at MGM Grand Hotel, Finfrock continued to change the face of sports in Las Vegas. During his three years, he signed Barbra Streisand to open the Grand Garden with her first arena concert in 20 years and landed the Rolling Stones, who had not played in such a venue in five years.
In 1995, Finfrock signed Mike Tyson to a six-fight, $20 million deal after Tyson was released from prison, helping the MGM Grand Garden Arena become the most popular boxing venue in the state.
It was also during this time that Finfrock collaborated with a group of cowboys to showcase bull riding as its own sport, today known as the Professional Bull Riders.
However, Finfrock was part of a massive cutback at the MGM in 1995 and soon began working as an independent design consultant for various arenas and stadiums, including the Olympic stadium for the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, the Bangkok Dome in Thailand and Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Finfrock’s influence did not go unnoticed. In 1995 the Las Vegas Review Journal named him most influential person in local sports, and in 2007 he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the Professional Bull Riders Hall of Fame.
Finfrock was also an active member of the International Association of Arena Mangers serving as association president for one year. As an important member of this association Finfrock was often asked to consult on arena development around the world.
Despite being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1996, Finfrock became executive vice president of ticketing and marketing for Advantix, a Southern California-based box office agency.
In 2003, he served as special events manager for the Cannery in North Las Vegas and staged a few boxing cards with promoter Richard Steele.
Finfrock has gifted his body to MERIN (Medical Education and Research Institute of Nevada) for research of diseases by UNLV students.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations be made in his name to MERIN (847 American Pacific Drive No. 120, Henderson, NV 89014), 1-702-933-5627 or www.merinv.org. At his request no funeral services will be held.
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James Gilbert can be reached at
jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.
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The Las Vegas Review-Journal contributed to this article.