Is It Time For Permanent Sites For Big 12 Championships?
by Beergut on Dec 6, 2008 11:59 PM CST
15 comments
I was mulling over this question during the Oklahoma-Missouri game tonight: Should the Big 12 toss its current practice of rotating championship sites, and go to permanent sites? The SEC holds its basketball and football championships in Atlanta, and they are doing well, so I don't see why it can't work for the Big 12, too.
Since I believe the setup in Kansas City is more conducive to a positive experience during March, I think they should keep the Big 12 men's and women's basketball tournaments in KC. While Kemper Arena is an old relic, it is still standing and still able to host the women's tournament, which is something Dallas will lack when they tear down Reunion Arena. I don't see Dallas building another multi-use facility which can be used for hosting women's basketball, so even though they have a jewel in American Airlines Center, Dallas really isn't a viable host for both tournaments. The fact that both arenas are within walking distance in Kansas City also supports the argument to make them a permanent site for the Big 12 basketball tournaments.
Currently, there is not a viable minor league facility in the Metroplex to host the Big 12 baseball tournament, so I support keeping it in Oklahoma City for the time being. The one stipulation I would make to Oklahomans is that they need to actually start supporting the tournament, and that means attending the championship game even if Oklahoma or Oklahoma State are not playing. I am tired of seeing empty seats when they show the tournament championship game on television simply because too many Oklahomans are bandwagon frontrunners. I've heard from too many Okies that Oklahomans love their baseball; well, step up and prove it.
I think we should move the football championship game to a permanent site at the new Cowboys' stadium in Arlington. The new Arlington stadium is going to be a jewel, and it will be a fitting site to host the game year after year. Texans are passionate about their football, and the game will be well-attended in the Metroplex if you make it a yearly event. Add in the central location of the Metroplex to other Big 12 schools, and the fact that the Big 12 Conference offices are located in Dallas, and the selection for Arlington as a permanent site is a no-brainer. The Alamodome in San Antonio really isn't a viable site because it is poor facility for watching football games (bad sightlines), and because of the issues San Antonio has with hosting major sporting events. Their event management is lacking. Houston's Reliant Stadium would be the Arlington stadium's most serious competitor as a permanent site. However, given the location of the Big 12 offices and proximity to all the Big 12 South schools, I think the Metroplex is a better site for a permanent home. There is also the fact that virutally all Big 12 schools recruit the D/FW area for football, so locating the site here where recruits and players' parents could see the game also makes sense.
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This really should be simple but the conference complicates it!
St. Louis for the north site and San Antonio for the south site alternating every other year.
St. Louis seems too much like Big 10 country.
I like the idea of having it at Jerry’s World come next season and beyond. It benefits the South schools the most and since the South usually always has the best team, why give the lesser team in the North the weather advantage of KC like they usually get.
Boomer Sooner!
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Ummm...
…because we’re a conference and we should try to be fair to all schools.
If we’re going to go with permanent sites, as Beergut suggests, I think the old Big 8 schools need to make it clear that it will not be done unless KC is guaranteed the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments every year. I can live with football in Dallas every year, as long as basketball is in KC. Kansas City has the Sprint Center for the men and either Municipal Auditorium or Kemper Arena for the women, and it was the traditional home of the Big 8 tournament (including the Christmas tournament, back when they played such a thing), and over the years the city has come to support that event like no other Big 12 city. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the three closest schools, K-State, KU and Missouri, have had some good and great teams and have a big alumni base in the city.
We'll carry the banner high!
Bring On The Cats
by TB on Dec 7, 2008 10:27 AM CST up reply actions
this is why I proposed sending both basketball tournaments to KC
y’all have a good setup for basketball.
I really dont’ care about the ‘traditonal home of the Big 8 tournament" argument, b/c I would argue that was unfair to the other Big 8 schools, and an advantage to Kansas, Missouri, and Kansas State. You can make an argument that hosting the basketball tournament in KC completely screws over the Texas schools. It isn’t like we get unbiased officiating in Kansas City.
Also, I’ve heard the ‘tradition’ argument wrt Oklahoma City and the baseball tournament, and the simple reality is that those people don’t support the tournament by going to games unless OU or OSU are playing.
I think that tradition matters, for precisely the reasons you mention in the article. When an event is played in one place over a long period of time, the locals adopt it as “theirs” and support it. I think Omaha and the CWS illustrates this. Putting the game in Dallas, with a bunch of football-crazed Texans around it, would likely ensure that even an Oklahoma State/Colorado title game would be well-attended.
Similarly, the Big 8 tournament’s history in KC led the residents of the city to adopt it as “theirs.” They buy tickets and go to the games, even if their team isn’t involved. When it was announced that the Big 12 tournament would be played somewhere other than KC, the residents of the city, of every stripe, were extremely disappointed.
Thanks to a good Aggie friend, I was able to secure to all-session passes for the tournament last spring, and I went to every game, no matter who was involved. A lot of K-State, KU and MU fans in KC do this. I remember the CU/Baylor game, a 5/12 matchup on Thursday, being played in front of relatively full stands, certainly more fans than American Airlines Center would have attracted for a similar matchup. Those are clealry non-empirical observations, but they are my observations.
We'll carry the banner high!
Bring On The Cats
by TB on Dec 7, 2008 4:21 PM CST up reply actions
St. Louis doesn't have a suitable dome anymore
and the Alamodome sucks and so does SA’s event management
The Frisco
baseball park is pretty nice (I’ve only seen it from the outside, never been in, but I’ve heard really nice things about it. It’s the Rangers AA club.
Go Raiders . . .
Double-T Nation
the reason they can't hold the tournament in Frisco
where I would personally love to have it, is that they don’t have suitable facilities to support the media that comes to cover the tournament
I've never been to
a B12 baseball tournament so I didn’t know about the media requirements. That’s a shame b/c it looks like a really nice park.
Go Raiders . . .
Double-T Nation
it is really nice
If you’re looking for baseball good times, it’s hard to not recommend the Dr. Pepper Ballpark. Easy Parking, Closer (to me anyway) and not too expensive.
There is a hotel
directly across the parking lot, and it’s new, so there’s likely a different reason for not using the Frisco facility. The Stars are based there, as well, so there are adequate satellite capabilities on site.
Besides, how many media members actually show up for the baseball tourney? 30?
I'm not against Frisco as a site
I happen to enjoy that area, b/c I have a friend who hosts a football clinic at the Embassy Suites there every year. The people are ES are awesome, and I think it is an ideal place for host a tournament.
The issue with adequate facilities for the media came from a media member. Bottom line is, I think everyone likes having the tournament in OKC. I did enjoy it when it came to Arlington, though.
I don't want a permanent site.
I actually like this rotating policy. It benefits fans from all the regions in Big 12 Country with a chance to see the game. If they were to choose a permanent location I would chose Jerry World.
I think
it works in the SEC because Atlanta is really the only major, major market in the entire conference. In the Big 12 you have Dallas and Houston both in the south, with Kansas City serving as a focal point for all of the schools in the north. I do wish they would rotate every other year, north and south.
Plus what’s wrong with a little variety, along with spreading the wealth across the entire conference
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