ACC 'seriously investigating' playing tournament at MSG

[BarkingDog]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mens-co...-tournament-madison-square-garden-sources-say


I've tried to remain pretty positive through this whole ordeal, but reading this made me ill.

 

[uchusky]

Vomit.

 

[Dooley]

Don't watch it. I've sworn off many things lately and find my own personal vendetta against ESPN and anyone who has ill-willed UConn to be quite satisfying, in a bittersweet kind of way.

 

[Srqhusky]

If they want to put the tournament in our back yard I say we out ours in their back yard. Atlanta anyone.

What about the c-7? I thought they would have went after MSG.

 

[UCFBfan]

I can't imagine the NC and southern schools being ok with playing the tournament in MSG. I hope it doesn't happen but in the article it even said that it's a long shot. The ACC doesn't care enough about BC, Syracuse, and Pitt to move the tournament out of their own traditional areas.

 

[huskyjawz]

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mens-co...-tournament-madison-square-garden-sources-say


I've tried to remain pretty positive through this whole ordeal, but reading this made me ill.

Sickness, anger, violent thoughts.

 

[upstater]

I hope they do it. I hope they undercut the Catholic schools and create even more bad blood.

And, I'm "seriously" not surprised.

 

[Fishy]

Why is there any surprise?

The ACC wanted what the Big East had.

This is what all of this has been about. Every headline, every NCAA bid, every penny the Big East ever got burned the ACC's ego.

So here they go - they're trying to knock the new Big East's conference tournament out from under them. Simply remarkable that the press, always so willing to throw bats over the 'greed' college sports, gives these hayseeds a pass.

 

[TRest]

I don't think Pitt and BC have enough of a following to even make this plausible. Only Syracuse cares about MSG, Duke can buy a game there every year if it wishes.

 

[JeepCSC]

I'll play the villain on this thread. We will probably go to NY sometime in the future. It will be in the mix, maybe a couple times a decade. The ACC has done that with some regularity, leaving the state of NC (4 times in the last decade). But MSG is, well, not my idea of a good venue given it's distance from conference base. I understand the history of it, but it isn't the ACC's history and when we inevitably have a tournament up there, I'd hope it is the Barclays.

These conference tournaments really depend on location to fanbases and not necessarily venues. Tampa was a terrible choice because the two closest schools also have some of the worst attending basketball fans. Greensboro is laughed at, but it is about 3 hours from half the league. And NC is easily the most basketball-centric state in the ACC footprint, on par with Indiana and Kentucky nationally. Fans are what make the events awesome. It's why MSG worked for the BE for so many years. Atlanta, Charlotte, NY, DC, and Greensboro will probably be the main sites, with Greensboro and Charlotte doing most of the work. Not because Greensboro/Charlotte are better places to visit than NYC, but better places for ACC fans and the tournament.

 

[J187Money]

When there is a Duke/UNC game their alumni in the city do things like rent out the entire 40/40 club to watch a regular season game. Don't underestimate demand. It would kill.

 

[UPitt]

I'll play the villain on this thread. We will probably go to NY sometime in the future. It will be in the mix, maybe a couple times a decade. The ACC has done that with some regularity, leaving the state of NC (4 times in the last decade). But MSG is, well, not my idea of a good venue given it's distance from conference base. I understand the history of it, but it isn't the ACC's history and when we inevitably have a tournament up there, I'd hope it is the Barclays.

I second this. I think the ACC would like to get stronger into the NY market and no better way than to plan your conference tourny in that market. MSG is the mecca of basketball, but it is very old and its history is about the knicks and the Big East. If the ACC wants in NY, they should go after Barclays. The ACC could claim Barclays as their own the way the Big East did MSG. But like JeepCSC said, Carolina is the heart of ACC country and thats where the fans live. The atmosphere is only as good as the fans that attend, so moving the tourny to NY permanantly would be a tough sell.

 

[CL82]

The ACC will go there for the spectacle of a conference tourney at the mecca of college basketball. They will go there as a way of pissing on the OBE's grave and declaring themselves the alpha of eastern basketball. They won't make it their home and they will always be tourists in NYC.

After the novelty wears off, their fan base will complain about the expense of hotels and hassle of travel. An ACC tournament in the Garden will always be an awkward reminder of the grandeur and grit of the Big East Tournament.

 

[huskyjawz]

The Garden wants to be filled on an annual basis, so how is the ACC going to get in there without committing to that?

 

[upstater]

The Garden wants to be filled on an annual basis, so how is the ACC going to get in there without committing to that?

Have the B1G show up in off years? If they each do it once every 3 years, they will dwarf what the BE can pay for all 3.

 

[Carl Spackler]

ACC tournament in midtown Manhattan at Madison Square Garden would be an epic fail. People in charge are probably stupid enough to give it a try anyway with Disney/ESPN pushing it.

Disney is doing their very best, through ESPN, to try to turn sports into a Disney brand of scripted entertainment.

Sports are not scripted though, and can't be, otherwise it's Vince McMahon and the WWF, and anyone watching knows it, and college sports fans around the country are every day, getting more and more wiser to what ESPN/Disney is trying to do with scripting the ACC as a quality athletic league.

DIsney is trying to script a successful athletic conference through ESPN, with the ACC, and it won't work. Because the ACC sucks. They suck at football, and other than two basketball programs, they suck at basketball. They were not second behind the big east, until Disney destroyed the Big East, they were THIRD behind the Big 10, and the Big EAst in basketball

In 2014, Disney, through ESPN, will have scripted sports entertainment into a league, that has more former BIg EAst members, than original ACC members.

You can't script entertainment at Madison Square Garden, though, it has to be real, and the ACC ain't got it.

I really hope the Big 10, can do what it takes, to take over the northeastern market from Virginia to Boston. They haven't gotten there yet.

 

[J187Money]

ACC tournament in midtown Manhattan at Madison Square Garden would be an epic fail. People in charge are probably stupid enough to give it a try anyway with Disney/ESPN pushing it.

Disney is doing their very best, through ESPN, to try to turn sports into a Disney brand of scripted entertainment.

Sports are not scripted though, and can't be, otherwise it's Vince McMahon and the WWF, and anyone watching knows it, and college sports fans around the country are every day, getting more and more wiser to what ESPN/Disney is trying to do with scripting the ACC as a quality athletic league.

DIsney is trying to script a successful athletic conference through ESPN, with the ACC, and it won't work. Because the ACC sucks. They suck at football, and other than two basketball programs, they suck at basketball. They were not second behind the big east, until Disney destroyed the Big East, they were THIRD behind the Big 10, and the Big EAst in basketball

In 2014, Disney, through ESPN, will have scripted sports entertainment into a league, that has more former BIg EAst members, than original ACC members.

You can't script entertainment at Madison Square Garden, though, it has to be real, and the ACC ain't got it.

I really hope the Big 10, can do what it takes, to take over the northeastern market from Virginia to Boston. They haven't gotten there yet.

Epic fail?

Duke: tons of grads / fans in NYC (they play games in the garden frequently for that reason)
UNC: tons of grads / fans everywhere
Syracuse/LV/ND/PITT: same as it was in the BE
Maryland: close enough to NYC if they have a good team (same as Georgetown)
BC: would travel down if they ever got good again
NC State/VT/Virginia/WF/GT/Miami/Clemson: no different than Depaul/Marquette/USF/Seton Hall/Providence

Hmm...so they take the best of the BE (other than UCONN/Georgetown/Marquette (which nobody in NYC cares about))...add them to Duke / UNC and somehow the tournament gets worse?

Fine. So the ACC sucks at basketball. Just like the AAC sucks in football (but would probably suck less if you added Florida/Georgia/LSU but left Alabama behind).

 

[CTMike]

Why is there any surprise?

The ACC wanted what the Big East had.

This is what all of this has been about. Every headline, every NCAA bid, every penny the Big East ever got burned the ACC's ego.

So here they go - they're trying to knock the new Big East's conference tournament out from under them. Simply remarkable that the press, always so willing to throw bats over the 'greed' college sports, gives these hayseeds a pass.

I must applaud your consistent use of the word "hayseed".

 

[gioff23]

While this string will go out on forever, we do understand the BE has MSG for the next 13 years. Sure, they could fail in some contractual way, but they have assembled what we all would agree was a strong BB conference w/schools that will likely fill the venue. If they fail, the ACC and BiG can fight over the place.

It really doesn't matter as no event will ever recapture the BE tourneys, no matter how hard they try.

 

[Carl Spackler]

Ok - maybe a little venom, sure. It hink I'm entitled.

But really - I just don't see the draw to an ACC tournament in MSG. It's too scripted, and New Yorkers aren't dumb. The beauty of the Big East tournament in MSG, and it's history, is that it was completely - UNscripted. Nobody thought it would work. The youngsters around here probably don't know that the first Big East tourney's were actually played in Providence and Hartford.

I suppose the reality is that you'd have to compare what an average tournament in Greensboro cost for the fans (tickets, travel, food, lodging) and see how well that translates to spending a week in mid-town. I'm quite familiar with the Penn Hotel bar, and I simply can't imagine that ACC fans are going to be coming from all over south of Mason-Dixon to mob that place, and they'll probably, come once, and never again, if they spend a few nights in mid-town 4 star hotel, because my guess (and admittedly it's a guess) is that the majority of people that normally would go to a Greensboro tournament, aren't going to be happy about shelling out the money it costs to stay in Manhattan, when they are used to the same hour - to 2 hour commute that we UCONN fans had, in and out of the tournament venue from home.

I found this online Jmoney, by accident, just doing a simple google search with keywords "uconn aau" .

THis is the kind of thing, that I hope is being shown to Big 10 type folks, and to me, is actually the very first thing I've seen that pretty much makes clear in what direction we are heading as a university with our academics, and research, and educational values. Sooner or later, athletics will follow. I can only hope.

http://provost.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2012-November-7-Department-Head-Presentation.pdf

 

[Fishy]

They really are hayseeds.

They're not bad people, but after about three days in the south or midwest, I'm ready to sucker-punch someone.

The extra 1/5th of a second that it takes them to say something grates me to the point of felony assault.

And all the men look like Honey Boo Boo in a suit.

 

[J187Money]

Ok - maybe a little venom, sure. It hink I'm entitled.

But really - I just don't see the draw to an ACC tournament in MSG. It's too scripted, and New Yorkers aren't dumb. The beauty of the Big East tournament in MSG, and it's history, is that it was completely - UNscripted. Nobody thought it would work. The youngsters around here probably don't know that the first Big East tourney's were actually played in Providence and Hartford.

I suppose the reality is that you'd have to compare what an average tournament in Greensboro cost for the fans (tickets, travel, food, lodging) and see how well that translates to spending a week in mid-town. I'm quite familiar with the Penn Hotel bar, and I simply can't imagine that ACC fans are going to be coming from all over south of Mason-Dixon to mob that place, and they'll probably, come once, and never again, if they spend a few nights in mid-town 4 star hotel, because my guess (and admittedly it's a guess) is that the majority of people that normally would go to a Greensboro tournament, aren't going to be happy about shelling out the money it costs to stay in Manhattan, when they are used to the same hour - to 2 hour commute that we UCONN fans had, in and out of the tournament venue from home.

I found this online Jmoney, by accident, just doing a simple google search with keywords "uconn aau" .

THis is the kind of thing, that I hope is being shown to Big 10 type folks, and to me, is actually the very first thing I've seen that pretty much makes clear in what direction we are heading as a university with our academics, and research, and educational values. Sooner or later, athletics will follow. I can only hope.

http://provost.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2012-November-7-Department-Head-Presentation.pdf

I think you are overplaying the scripted / unscripted stuff. New Yorkers aren't dumb. But most of them also don't head to Greensboro to see the ACC tourney because there is no draw. UNC / Louisville and Duke / Syracuse on a semi-final night? SOLD OUT. The thing about NYC is you don't NEED all of the travelers. There are enough people here (and I mean here because I work 1 block away from MSG) to fill the arena for any great event. Nobody will come to the early rounds. But nobody went to those games anyway. Finals and semis will be epic and quarters might be great also. That's all you need.

 

[Ts5034]

I second this. I think the ACC would like to get stronger into the NY market and no better way than to plan your conference tourny in that market. MSG is the mecca of basketball, but it is very old and its history is about the knicks and the Big East. If the ACC wants in NY, they should go after Barclays. The ACC could claim Barclays as their own the way the Big East did MSG. But like JeepCSC said, Carolina is the heart of ACC country and thats where the fans live. The atmosphere is only as good as the fans that attend, so moving the tourny to NY permanantly would be a tough sell.

Wait up! MSG very old?? Madison Square Garden is basically a brand new arena now since the whole interior has been gutted and rebuilt over the last 2 summers with another phase of renovations scheduled to begin in about a month.

I figured the northeast schools would push for a conference tournament in this area. I guarantee Coach K would love the idea of bringing the tournament to the Garden. Duke will have a lot of fans go there and maybe even more that would show up to Greensboro.

 

[UConnJim]

Ok - maybe a little venom, sure. It hink I'm entitled.

But really - I just don't see the draw to an ACC tournament in MSG. It's too scripted, and New Yorkers aren't dumb. The beauty of the Big East tournament in MSG, and it's history, is that it was completely - UNscripted. Nobody thought it would work. The youngsters around here probably don't know that the first Big East tourney's were actually played in Providence and Hartford.

I suppose the reality is that you'd have to compare what an average tournament in Greensboro cost for the fans (tickets, travel, food, lodging) and see how well that translates to spending a week in mid-town. I'm quite familiar with the Penn Hotel bar, and I simply can't imagine that ACC fans are going to be coming from all over south of Mason-Dixon to mob that place, and they'll probably, come once, and never again, if they spend a few nights in mid-town 4 star hotel, because my guess (and admittedly it's a guess) is that the majority of people that normally would go to a Greensboro tournament, aren't going to be happy about shelling out the money it costs to stay in Manhattan, when they are used to the same hour - to 2 hour commute that we UCONN fans had, in and out of the tournament venue from home.

I found this online Jmoney, by accident, just doing a simple google search with keywords "uconn aau" .

THis is the kind of thing, that I hope is being shown to Big 10 type folks, and to me, is actually the very first thing I've seen that pretty much makes clear in what direction we are heading as a university with our academics, and research, and educational values. Sooner or later, athletics will follow. I can only hope.

http://provost.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2012-November-7-Department-Head-Presentation.pdf

Good find on the UConn/AAU link. It's pretty clear from the presentation that UConn is focused on an AAU invite.

 

[upstater]

While this string will go out on forever, we do understand the BE has MSG for the next 13 years. Sure, they could fail in some contractual way, but they have assembled what we all would agree was a strong BB conference w/schools that will likely fill the venue. If they fail, the ACC and BiG can fight over the place.

It really doesn't matter as no event will ever recapture the BE tourneys, no matter how hard they try.

You will find that even with the old BE, MSG had an out. What they want is guaranteed money. The new BE is in charge of all ticket sales. The revenue goes directly to the BE. So, MSG can raise prices to the stratosphere.