Las Vegas Sports Committee/USA Wrestling Announce Sponsorship for April 24-27 event    LAS VEGAS--Site of many of the world's biggest conventions and top sporting events for nearly 50 years, the recently-expanded Las Vegas Convention Center will be the site and the Las Vegas will be the title sponsor of the 2002 Las Vegas United States National Wrestling Championships, it was announced jointly by USA Wrestling and the Las Vegas Sports Committee.    The massive tournament, with over 2,000 athletes expected to compete, will include the U.S. Freestyle Nationals, the U.S. Greco-Roman Nationals, the U.S. Women*s Nationals, the U.S. Veteran*s Nationals and the Western Junior Regionals. ESPN will televise the men's finals on a delayed basis while the Oxygen Network will broadcast the women*s finals, also on a delayed basis.    Being co-produced for the 13th time by USA Wrestling and the Las Vegas Sports Committee (LVSC), the 2002 Las Vegas United States National Wrestling Championships, presented by Knickerbocker, will be held April 24-27 in the new Hall S-3 addition to the Las Vegas Convention Center.    "USA Wrestling has a great working relationship with the Las Vegas Sports Committee. The return of Las Vegas as title sponsor and the new hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center as the venue is a major plus for the United States National Wrestling Championships," said Rich Bender, Executive Director for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for the sport. "We look forward to another outstanding event, featuring the best wrestlers in the United States showcased in Las Vegas--the internationally-renown entertainment and sports capital of the world."     "Returning to the Las Vegas Convention Center and presenting this national championship with the magical Las Vegas dateline, is great for the LVSC, USAW and the city of Las Vegas," said Larry Barnson, LVSC President. "Las Vegas has been the most successful host city in the history of the United States National Wrestling Championships and we fully expect this year's event to add to the growing legacy of our community as the site of major championship events."    In Las Vegas, America's finest wrestlers will be starting the road to the World Championship. National Championships will be decided in the seven international weight categories for senior men and women competitors.  There will be six weight divisions for the veteran*s divisions, split into five divisions based on ages.    Titles in 15 weight divisions will be decided in the Western Junior Regionals. Any qualified junior wrestler may compete in one of seven regional championships held annually by USA Wrestling across the country.    The top seven place winners in each weight class in men's freestyle and men's Greco-Roman will qualify for the World Team Trials in Saint Paul, Minn. in June. The top eight women's place winners in each weight class will advance to the World Team Trials in St. Paul in June.    Las Vegas has hosted and the LVSC and USA Wrestling have worked together to hold 12 previous Nationals in the Southern Nevada area, including the past two years. It will be the 10th time the event will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.    Officially, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority is title sponsor of the event and presenting sponsor is Knickerbocker LLC of Gladstone, N.J. The championships are being sanctioned by USA Wrestling, the national governing body for the sport and is being co-produced by the Las Vegas Sports Committee and USA Wrestling.    For 17 years, the LVSC, a non-profit organization benefitting the youth of Las Vegas, has been producing special events in the Las Vegas area. Other major wrestling events produced by the LVSC include the 1997 USA Wrestling Freestyle World Team Trials, the 1998 NAIA National Wrestling Championships and the 1998 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Championships. In July of 1999, the LVSC presented the U.S. Taekwondo Junior Olympics with over 5,000 participants.    Advance VIP, Preferred and General Admission All-Event tickets are on sale through the LVSC ticket office at 702.838-4091. With admission for all four days, VIP All-Event packages are $155 each, Preferred All-Event tickets are $65 each and General Admission All-Event tickets are on sale for $45 for adults and $25 for youth (6 to 17 years old).     Preferred and General Admission daily tickets will be available at the door only. Preferred daily tickets will be $35 while General Admission daily tickets will be $25 for adults and $15 for youth.     Tickets to the finals only (to be held at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27) will be available on the day of the event at the door. Preferred will be $25 each while General Admission tickets for the finals will be $20 for adults and $10 for students.    Additional information is available from the LVSC offices at 361.5017 or on the organization's website at www.lvsports.org.