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Secchia trying to bring NCAA basketball regionals to Grand Rapids in 2011


GRDadof3

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  • 3 weeks later...

Of course MSU supports the bid; with WMU as the sponsoring university it allows them to get bracketed in there back yard for the first two rounds. A great deal and if it comes to be, excellent for the Van Andel as it will surely sell out.

I would certainly have to fly in; if they get the NCAA nod.

An announcement should be made in September, keeping my fingers crossed!

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  • 4 weeks later...

No NCAA men's basketball tournament in Grand Rapids

GRAND RAPIDS -- There will not be an NCAA Division I men's basketball regional tournament coming to Van Andel Arena in the immediate future.

Members of the Local Organizing Committee hoping to host a 2011, '12 or '13 preliminary round tournament in Grand Rapids were informed today by letter that their bid was denied by the NCAA.

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I wonder what the "pluses" that other cities had over GR.

Was the deal breaker a lack of direct flights and/or cost in and out of the airport?

Hard to say. These days the tournament isn't so much about playing basketball as it is pleasing sponsors and athletic alumni associations. (I would have included television networks, but CBS has a sweet deal going and really doesn't care where the games are played)

If I were to speculate, it wasn't just one thing but the 'death of a thousand cuts'. The gym is a little on the small size, it's a little more pain in the butt to get in and out of here than other places, a perceived lack of 'big city' accommodations and dining/schmoozing establishments, lack of hometown university sponsorship, market size, et.al. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the NCAA media committee heard from lazy, overweight sportswriters whining about the possibility of having to trudge their laptops through the snow in a Michigan March.

It was a noble attempt to get the Dance here, I just hope it doesn't turn into some McGuffin to drop a load of cash into the arena for a remodel thinking that in itself will make all the difference. It won't, you don't have to work hard to find examples of sparkly new gyms that have been passed over for tournament play for years. Like I said, it's less about basketball and more about keeping the vested interests happy.

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Hard to say. These days the tournament isn't so much about playing basketball as it is pleasing sponsors and athletic alumni associations. (I would have included television networks, but CBS has a sweet deal going and really doesn't care where the games are played)

If I were to speculate, it wasn't just one thing but the 'death of a thousand cuts'. The gym is a little on the small size, it's a little more pain in the butt to get in and out of here than other places, a perceived lack of 'big city' accommodations and dining/schmoozing establishments, lack of hometown university sponsorship, market size, et.al. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the NCAA media committee heard from lazy, overweight sportswriters whining about the possibility of having to trudge their laptops through the snow in a Michigan March.

It was a noble attempt to get the Dance here, I just hope it doesn't turn into some McGuffin to drop a load of cash into the arena for a remodel thinking that in itself will make all the difference. It won't, you don't have to work hard to find examples of sparkly new gyms that have been passed over for tournament play for years. Like I said, it's less about basketball and more about keeping the vested interests happy.

That doesn't explain Dayton and Boise though.

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That doesn't explain Dayton and Boise though.

Dayton has been a legacy venue, they've been hosting the 'play-in' game for years. Unless things have changed, it's only a couple of games.

Boise has BSU in-town, I don't think their air service is as limited, and they do have pretty decent accommodations/dining.

I don't know what the venue is like, nor the bid history... for all I know they may have been trying to get the Dance there since Naismith and Rupp were active in the game. :dontknow:

[EDIT: As a sidebar, unless there's an NDA or someone is not being forthright, it's punk that the specific reasons for denial isn't being published. Smacks of iPhone Apps Store demagoguery]

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  • 2 years later...

Metropolitan Grand Rapids in general and Downtown Grand Rapids in particular have collectively evolved into a locale that provides a world-class backdrop for the region's current bid for the NCAA's First Four of March Madness 2014 or 2015 (LINK: http://www.mlive.com/spartans/index.ssf/2012/09/grand_rapids_michigan_state_bi.html ).

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http://www.woodtv.co...A-consideration

A big difference this bid is that the NCAA has lowered its mandatory number of paid seats arenas needs to hold -- dropping it from 12,00 to 10,000. That's an easier number for the Van Andel Arena to meet.

The Mlive article lists a 12,000+ seating capacity stated on the Van Andel Arenas website. But the website don't specify for what events they get that capacity. Wikipedia puts the basketball capacity at 11,500. So if the requirements have been lowered to 10,000 that will be a big help.

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Metropolitan Grand Rapids in general and Downtown Grand Rapids in particular have collectively evolved into a locale that provides a world-class backdrop for the region's current bid for the NCAA's First Four of March Madness 2014 or 2015 (LINK: http://www.mlive.com...n_state_bi.html ).

It's the First Four of the NCAA tournaments. Not really a big deal. If you watch March Madness, in those first games the stadiums are barely half full. It's being held in Dayton OH next year. It's good news if we get it, I guess.

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Anything that brings in people from around the country and has a little national exposure is good but this is also the old "play-in" round

Last years tournament had MS Valley State, W. KY, Lamar, Vermont, BYU, Iona, Cal, and S. Fla., not exactly the games people tune in to watch unless they have an affiliation to those teams, and not exactly the type of teams I would pay to go see personally

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Maybe not the ideal high profile opportunity we'd love to see, but it's a start. You gotta walk before you can run I suppose.

I think just getting NCAA Div I Men's B-Ball representatives here so they can see what an awesome downtown and arena district we have would give us a foot in the door for future first weekend games.

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