Blauds: Hartford May Host New Conference's First Men's Basketball Tournament

[The Viking]

I still can't believe USF would be getting the same cut as us from these negotiations. Cincy? Fine. Their football has performed admirably and their hoops has been solid. But USF? Talk about hitting the jackpot.

 

[Whale22]

Hartford at this point a possible venue for this tourney, but I think Hartford without a serious upgrade won't even be considered for opportunities like this come 10 years from now. Hartford is going to be left in the dust without a serious upgrade. Already losing out to the casinos as an entertainment center. The stigma of gambling continues to lessesn (think about it, we already host the HS BBall games there). Unless something is done, Hartford and therefore maybe even CT will continue to look third world to those on the outside. The uber focus on keeping an AHL team in HTFD and complete lack of even discussing UConn shows how backwards and misaligned the priorities in this state are.

 

[djct1999]

I see it now...............Ollie telling a 5 star recruit, "and in March, we play our tournament in Hartford. The atmosphere is unbelievable." Come on guys, this is pathetic. Selfishly, I agree. It is convenient but it really does end there. There is nothing good on a national scale for UConn and its brand to be playing anything but some home games in Hartford.

 

[CAHUSKY]

I see it now...............Ollie telling a 5 star recruit, "and in March, we play our tournament in Hartford. The atmosphere is unbelievable." Come on guys, this is pathetic. Selfishly, I agree. It is convenient but it really does end there. There is nothing good on a national scale for UConn and its brand to be playing anything but some home games in Hartford.

You have a better suggestion?

 

[djct1999]

You have a better suggestion?

Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia has more appeal. New Orleans has more appeal. For recruiting purposes, Id even say Dallas or Houston.

Why do I have this funny suspicion that in the end, the format will look more the like the America East and less like the old Big East.

Seriously, how many fans will be in the seats for a first round matchup of a "marquee name" in Cincinanti vs Tulane? My guess is under 8k.

 

[Fairfield 1st]

This will actually be counterproductive for our cause. Our bone-headed state leaders and administration will use this to tout what would be only a small short term economic gain, while in reality Hartford would be exposed as the third rate city it is. Anyone remember the the travesty of the first round tourney games when North Carolina was here? Parking nightmare inadequate hotels. Not enough restaurants. All on display at a time we can ill afford it

 

[upstater]

Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia has more appeal. New Orleans has more appeal. For recruiting purposes, Id even say Dallas or Houston.

Why do I have this funny suspicion that in the end, the format will look more the like the America East and less like the old Big East.

Seriously, how many fans will be in the seats for a first round matchup of a "marquee name" in Cincinanti vs Tulane? My guess is under 8k.

Kick those schlubs out of Brooklyn!

I think Philly is a good choice for the tourney, but the one problem there is that the city built the Stadium and the arena a good distance from downtown in an industrialized area. It's not very walkable, but it is convenient by car. I like to skip a game or two at the BET, get dinner, head back for a nap, etc. Philly won't be good for that.

 

[Fairfield 1st]

If this dumpster fire of a conference that we are in, at least for the foreseeable future, is to succeed, we need its first steps onto the national stage to be successful. It needs to at least look classy. That ain't happening in Hartford

 

[Rumrunner]

Since jacobs quoted the xl center manager, this sounds like something cooked up by the big east, and not UConn.But anything that gives uconn a competitive advantage is a good thing.

A lot of the alternatives have their own faults, and each stems from the fact that the tournament no matter where it's played, will not have the aura of the old BE at MSG. New Orleans sounds nice, memphis too.

But the excitement in the building and the home court advantage when uconn plays is all that I care about. So Hartford is the best we can get.

We really are getting the scraps of realignment, but when you're starving, homeless, with your sores oozing, that half eaten big mac found in the McDonald's dumpster keeps you alive to fight another day.

 

[Fairfield 1st]

Since jacobs quoted the xl center manager, this sounds like something cooked up by the big east, and not UConn.But anything that gives uconn a competitive advantage is a good thing.

A lot of the alternatives have their own faults, and each stems from the fact that the tournament no matter where it's played, will not have the aura of the old BE at MSG. New Orleans sounds nice, memphis too.

But the excitement in the building and the home court advantage when uconn plays is all that I care about. So Hartford is the best we can get.

We really are getting the scraps of realignment, but when you're starving, homeless, with your sores oozing, that half eaten big mac found in the McDonald's dumpster keeps you alive to fight another day.

I get that. But the building is a joke and not worthy of our program. Short term gain. Long term loss

 

[noeynox]

I still can't believe USF would be getting the same cut as us from these negotiations. Cincy? Fine. Their football has performed admirably and their hoops has been solid. But USF? Talk about hitting the jackpot.

Your reward for being the best is the trophies. I don't get the line of thinking that since we performed better were entitled to more money. Al three schools have been left in a lurch, makes sense they are compensated equally.

 

[upstater]

Let's question this idea that Barclay's is married to the A10.

Right now, MSG is still signed up with UConn's conference. Are they going to stick with it? No, I'm sure they have an out with the current composition of the teams.

Are Barclay's lawyers stupid enough to sign on with the A10 no matter how it's composed?

The A10 is about to lose Temple, Xavier, Butler, and maybe Richmond, St. Louis, VCU or Dayton.

Something tells me that Barclay's can easily sign on with the BE.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If, and I mean only if, we are stuck in this mess for the long-term (more than five years), it would make good sense geographically for Memphis and New Orleans to get a shot. Great party towns to throw down drinks, listen to music and eat great food for 4-5 days.

And to be honest there's worse places than Houston, Dallas, Philly and Orlando to visit for a conference tourney.

Agreed. Hartford makes no long term sense, and NYC makes even less sense. Memphis is probably the most centrally located and easily reached for all, with Dallas and Orlando as the next best. But like Hartford, Memphis is less likely to be overshadowed by other local schools.

 

[Wise2]

The only part of the article that got me a bit tingly was:

"Moving to Hartford would virtually guarantee a sellout because of the UConn connection, plus it would be the conference’s way of giving an additional benefit to UConn, which has made it clear that it would not hesitate to jump off the Big East bandwagon <b> should the Big Ten, ACC or Big 12 offer invitations."</b>

At least our delusions are being fed.

Wrong!!. The games will not sell out. We can't even sell out our biggest games in Hartford against top 20 competition. You do know that you will have to buy the whole package. It will cost over 250.00 or more for the package and their won't be a flock of other fans, like at MSG, to buy up the tix that you don't want. I predict it will be less than 10,000 if that. Bad bad idea. We need it in a destination, to make it an event.

 

[upstater]

Agreed. Hartford makes no long term sense, and NYC makes even less sense. Memphis is probably the most centrally located and easily reached for all, with Dallas and Orlando as the next best. But like Hartford, Memphis is less likely to be overshadowed by other local schools.

Why would NYC makes less sense?

It's easy to get to, airfares are the cheapest, it's a great town to visit. It's not like flying to Memphis from Tampa or Orlando or Houston is any cheaper to Memphis than it is NYC. Tampa is $179 to NYC, $271 to Memphis. Houston is $248 to NYC, $270 to Memphis.

Car from Houston is 9 hours. Car from Tampa is 13 hours.

 

[upstater]

Wrong!!. The games will not sell out. We can't even sell out our biggest games in Hartford against top 20 competition. You do know that you will have to buy the whole package. It will cost over 250.00 or more for the package and their won't be a flock of other fans, like at MSG, to buy up the tix that you don't want. I predict it will be less than 10,000 if that. Bad bad idea. We need it in a destination, to make it an event.

I don't know about you, but I never buy the whole package at the BET, and I wouldn't in the future, especially if tickets are easy to come by.

The assumption is that it would sell out--if UConn is playing, or maybe Temple.

 

[UConn9604]

This will actually be counterproductive for our cause. Our bone-headed state leaders and administration will use this to tout what would be only a small short term economic gain, while in reality Hartford would be exposed as the third rate city it is. Anyone remember the the travesty of the first round tourney games when North Carolina was here? Parking nightmare inadequate hotels. Not enough restaurants. All on display at a time we can ill afford it

I thought that all of the complaining about the 1998 NCAAs was a bit overrated. Some people in central Connecticut act like they have a God-given right to a covered parking spot within 50 yards of their destinations and direct access to an I-84/91 onramp.

The newest garage in the City (Morgan Street) has about 2,200 covered spaces for only $4 that are barely a five-minute walk from the XL Center, down Pratt Street and Temple Street - and there are probably about 30 restaurants within a three block walk of the XL Center, too. Around that, for most of the games, the office buildings' lots and garages will be available, as well.

I think the building needs replacement but I don't think the surroundings will be an issue for a tournament there.

That said, I don't care if the Big Metro whatever offered to play the tournament in my front yard, I'd drop that league in a second if it meant something (anything) better.

 

[CTGoonie]

My uncle travels every year to watch NCAA tourney games (he's a Marist fan so he's just doing it for fun). He told me a couple years ago that his favorite trip was when he went to Hartford in 98. He's been to New Orleans, Tampa and many other locations but the proximity of bars/restaurants to the XL is very convenient for the fans. Parking can suck but that is typical of any city.

 

[businesslawyer]

If this dumpster fire of a conference that we are in, at least for the foreseeable future, is to succeed, we need its first steps onto the national stage to be successful. It needs to at least look classy. That ain't happening in Hartford

What we need is to play the tournament in a full arena, regardless of where the arena is. Short term, Memphis and Hartford will be the two choices. If one day the conference can fill its arena at a neutral site -- well, I hope not to be in the conference by that day.

 

[captainron2]

The last two times that Providence hosted the NCAA's, they turned whole city blocks into outside beer gardens. It was pretty cool and people seemed to like it....

 

[Jerry1714]

I guess Hartford is nice for the convenience, but honestly I would prefer its not there. The Civic Center(i know XL) is a dump and there is not a ton to do in the area if you are there for 4 days.

Also, it does nothing for recruiting and is not an attractive destination for fans from schools like Memphis, Temple, and Cincy. The last thing we need is for them to show the stands when Memphis is playing Temple and there are 2k fans there.

Id rather have it in Newark to be honest given the close distance to NYC. Or Philly, NOLA, Memphis or even Atlantic City.

PAC 12 is played in Vegas which does not have any PAC 12 schools there so why not Boston?

 

[Dann]

tampa, memphis or in north cary somewhere would be my thoughts.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Because we don't have any teams in New York. I don't think New Yorkers will have any interest in the league, and I don't think these teams will travel. In Memphis, I think the locals will turn out.

 

[upstater]

Because we don't have any teams in New York. I don't think New Yorkers will have any interest in the league, and I don't think these teams will travel. In Memphis, I think the locals will turn out.

I don't get it. St. John's and Seton Hall barely showed up at the Garden. Pitt traveled, UConn traveled, G'town traveled, Louisville traveled. Temple fans filled up the Garden for their game against Syracuse.

I feel confident in saying more fans would go to NYC than to any other city. First, it's a great city. Second, it's easy and cheap to fly to. Third, two of the top teams (Temple and UConn) can take the train in.

 

[CL82]

I guess Hartford is nice for the convenience, but honestly I would prefer its not there. The Civic Center(i know XL) is a dump and there is not a ton to do in the area if you are there for 4 days.

Also, it does nothing for recruiting and is not an attractive destination for fans from schools like Memphis, Temple, and Cincy. The last thing we need is for them to show the stands when Memphis is playing Temple and there are 2k fans there.

Id rather have it in Newark to be honest given the close distance to NYC. Or Philly, NOLA, Memphis or even Atlantic City.

PAC 12 is played in Vegas which does not have any PAC 12 schools there so why not Boston?

Newark is a PR nightmare, especially without a Jersey school. It would be convenient for me, however, so there's that.