At this year's Great Alaska Shootout, you can drink beer in the bleachers, you can go shopping for cellphones and you can dine on a shrimp-and-crab cocktail.
You can also watch some Division I college basketball.
It'll be a whole new ballgame when the 37th annual tournament tips off Tuesday.
New arena: The tournament says goodbye to Sullivan Arena and hello to the Alaska Airlines Center, the University of Alaska Anchorage's sleek new $109 million arena.
New sponsor: Gone is Carrs/Safeway as the tournament's title sponsor. The new sponsor is GCI, which has opened a store in the arena's lobby, just inside the north entrance.
New schools: Six of the 10 visiting teams are making their Shootout debuts -- the men's teams from Colorado State, Mercer University, Rice, Missouri State and UC-Santa Barbara and the women's team from Long Beach State. Making return trips are the Washington State and Pacific men's teams and the Boise State and Yale women's teams.
New rules: No smoking in the parking lot. Both the building and the parking lot are smoke-free, a UAA spokesman said.
"I think it's going to be an enjoyable experience for fans," said Rusty Osborne, the UAA men's coach. "It's a basketball arena, not a basketball court stuck in the middle of a hockey rink or convention center. Good sight lines, the seats are close, the balcony overhangs, it's a very intimate atmosphere. I think people will enjoy watching basketball here whether they're a casual fan or a fanatic."
Old standby, new venue
This year's Shootout, a Thanksgiving week staple in Anchorage since 1978, will have an entirely different vibe than those that came before it, at least for fans.
The 5,000-seat gym appears to have no bad seats, although those sitting in the balcony are really far up there. For those spectators, a four-sided giant video board hangs above center court to help them follow the action.
Fans can earn face time on the video board if they can attract the attention of a dance cam or if their Tweeted or Instragrammed #SeawolfSelfie is chosen to be displayed on the big screen.
The east side of the arena will be designated a "wet area," where beer and wine can be consumed. That's a Shootout first.
And for those who think ahead and get reservations at the upscale Varsity Grill, fans can have dinner and drinks while watching the games through floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the gym.
The beloved burrito stand that was a highlight of the Sullivan Arena days is gone, replaced by four concession stands operated by NANA Management Services. But if you're craving Mexican and if any UC-Santa Barbara fans are on hand, you might be in luck.
Gauchos fans have a habit of tossing tortillas the way Anchorage hockey fans toss frozen salmon. According to the school's website, after some out-of-control tortilla barrages in the 1990s, including several that led to game stoppages and technical fouls against the Gauchos, the practice was banned at basketball games but remains a tradition at soccer games.
Changing promotions
A couple of longtime Shootout traditions will go away this year, UAA associate athletic director Tim McDiffett said.
The $1 million shot contest is no more. Held annually since 1996 during halftime of the Saturday night men's championship game, no one ever sank the 70-foot shot worth $1 million but plenty of people won used cars from car dealer Vito Ungaro, the sponsor of the promotion for 17 years (GCI took it over last year).
Also gone is the Couch Potato contest, which each session rewarded the group of green-and-gold-wearing fans deemed most spirited with a courtside sofa from which to watch the game -- and a chance to win airline tickets.
Not to worry. McDiffett said a slew of new promotions will replace the old ones, some of which offer prizes that are easily worth the price of admission:
• GCI will give away 1 million Alaska Airlines miles -- 50,000 at each game except the two championship games, when the prize will be 150,000 miles. Fans can enter online but must be present to win.
• GCI is also giving away a number of products -- including the latest iPhones and iPads -- as part of its Tech Toy Giveaway.
• Two roundtrip tickets and two Boardroom passes will be up for grabs in the Alaska Airlines Green and Gold Spirit contest. McDiffett said one green-and-gold-clad fan will be selected at each session, and during halftime of the men's championship game the eight winners will play a game of bump basketball, with the winner collecting the prizes.
• Fans can win Papa John's pizzas by answering Shootout trivia questions, and they can win UAA gear by working up a sweat. The UAA gear will be awarded only at UAA games, at which fans will be asked to jump up and down in support of the Seawolves when the game tips off. The last person to stop jumping wins.
Dont forget the on-court action
And remember, there will be basketball too.
The tournament begins Tuesday with two women's games, and if you haven't been paying attention, the UAA women again look like they may hold their own against the three Division I teams in the field.
Through three games, the Seawolves -- who have played in seven of the last eight championship games and have won four of them -- averaged nearly 90 points and 23 steals per game. They had a more modest 78 points and 14 steals in their most recent outing and they are 4-0 heading into a Tuesday night game against Yale.
Don't expect those kind of numbers to hold up against the likes of Yale, Boise State and Long Beach State, but you can expect to have fun watching the UAA women press, trap and run.
Boise State will garner built-in fan appeal thanks to Keiahnna Engel, the former Dimond High star who started every game last season for the Broncos.
The eight-team men's tournament begins Wednesday with two games -- UAA against University of the Pacific, and Colorado State against Missouri State.
The Colorado State-Missouri State game tips off at 10 p.m. to satisfy the late-night scheduling needs of CBS Sports Network, which will air seven men's games -- all four first-round games, both of Friday's semifinals and Saturday's championship.
Though CBS Sports Network isn't available on cable in Anchorage, the CBS coverage of UAA's first-round game will be simulcast statewide on GCI cable channel 1.