Posnanski: Move the Final Four to Indy, permanently

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Laley23's avatar

Laley23

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Apr 5, 2010 4:15 PM
I like it there and it has nothing to do with the fact its in Indiana. I like that everything that happens that weekend is in close proximity. The bars, stadium, restaurants, hotels etc are all in good locations. It is the best city for the FF I have been too during the Final Four (and the St Pete refernces had to be a joke. That place was atrocious).
Apr 5, 2010 4:15pm
swamisez's avatar

swamisez

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Apr 5, 2010 4:21 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. Large venue, built to host the tournament. NCAA HOF is there in indy, and it makes more logistical sense to have it in one place. Stinks that it won't be more accessible to fans across the nation, but with the diminishing numbers of domed stadiums or multi purpose venues that are able to host such an event it is possible.

I would like to see a rotation, much like the bowl system.

New Orleans, Dallas, Indianapolis, maybe a west coast venue should they build something that is comparable to what the previously mentioned offer.
Apr 5, 2010 4:21pm
Little Danny's avatar

Little Danny

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Apr 5, 2010 4:22 PM
Keep it in Stark County (oops, wrong thread!) :D
Apr 5, 2010 4:22pm
SportsAndLady's avatar

SportsAndLady

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Apr 5, 2010 4:42 PM
One thing you gotta keep in mind:

Would this convo be different if IU was better?
Apr 5, 2010 4:42pm
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

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Apr 5, 2010 5:10 PM
SportsAndLady wrote: One thing you gotta keep in mind:

Would this convo be different if IU was better?
Kind of irrelevant since it isnt discussing the immediate future anway. This wouldnt be in place for awhile. Not to mention, they would assume IU is going to be back not to mention currently Purdue is a top team.
Apr 5, 2010 5:10pm
LJ's avatar

LJ

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Apr 5, 2010 5:17 PM
I agree with him. The final four just seems "right" in Indy.
Apr 5, 2010 5:17pm
namod65's avatar

namod65

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Apr 5, 2010 5:25 PM
SportsAndLady wrote: One thing you gotta keep in mind:

Would this convo be different if IU was better?
Being an OSU fan I still wouldn't care if IU was good and they kept the FF in Indy. If we were good and made it that far, we are close enough to travel there and take away most of the home court advantage. If I was a fan of someone else like UCLA I might think otherwise but I'm cool with keeping it in Indy :D
Apr 5, 2010 5:25pm
SportsAndLady's avatar

SportsAndLady

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Apr 5, 2010 5:31 PM
Laley23 wrote:
SportsAndLady wrote: One thing you gotta keep in mind:

Would this convo be different if IU was better?
Kind of irrelevant since it isnt discussing the immediate future anway. This wouldnt be in place for awhile. Not to mention, they would assume IU is going to be back not to mention currently Purdue is a top team.
I just meant if IU was back to Final Fours every other year, people might not feel so good about this...especially west coast teams.
Apr 5, 2010 5:31pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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Apr 5, 2010 5:43 PM
I always heard that San Antonio was the best place for the FF. And does that mean it won't be returning to Detroit any time soon?
Apr 5, 2010 5:43pm
V

vball10set

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Apr 5, 2010 6:02 PM
I like the idea-- as LJ alluded to, there's something about it being in Indiana that just feels right...they'd obviously have to move the BT tourney--back to Chicago maybe??
Apr 5, 2010 6:02pm
thedynasty1998's avatar

thedynasty1998

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Apr 5, 2010 6:04 PM
Not sure if it's mentioned in the article, but it's probably worth noting that the NCAA is based out of Indy.
Apr 5, 2010 6:04pm
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

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Apr 5, 2010 6:16 PM
SportsAndLady wrote:
Laley23 wrote:
SportsAndLady wrote: One thing you gotta keep in mind:

Would this convo be different if IU was better?
Kind of irrelevant since it isnt discussing the immediate future anway. This wouldnt be in place for awhile. Not to mention, they would assume IU is going to be back not to mention currently Purdue is a top team.
I just meant if IU was back to Final Fours every other year, people might not feel so good about this...especially west coast teams.
They have only been to 8. They dont get to a lot of Final Fours, but when they do/did...they usually cut down the nets.
Apr 5, 2010 6:16pm
M

Manhattan Buckeye

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Apr 5, 2010 6:28 PM
Well at least he admits it is unpopular:

"Just about everybody disagrees with me on this (and I don't blame them),"

Basketball is played indoors and even in the northern states travel isn't a problem (unlike football), and it is a national sport. There are plenty of places that have the capabilities (facility, travel ease and hotels) that Indy has that also have tradition, seems unfair to have Indy keep the wealth every year regardless of whether it benefits one team or another.

And it really has 0% chance of happening...the other power conferences will go absolutely batshit over this.
Apr 5, 2010 6:28pm
Azubuike24's avatar

Azubuike24

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Apr 5, 2010 6:36 PM
I wouldn't mind seeing this. Indianapolis is a great location.
Apr 5, 2010 6:36pm
M

Manhattan Buckeye

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Apr 5, 2010 6:46 PM
BTW I'm also not a fan of raising the minimum seating threshold, IMO the best games hisorically have been played in real basketball arenas (particularly durnig the college basketball heydays from the inception of the 64 team bracket to the turn of the century), not on raised floors in a building the size of a blimp hangar. Somtimes bigger isn't always better.
Apr 5, 2010 6:46pm
P

purple_rein

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349 posts
Apr 6, 2010 12:04 AM
The only argument that I can come up with to not have it in Indianapolis perminantly is because it gives a travel advantage every year to the same group of teams which are located in the midwest.

Indy is by far the best candidate for this sort of a move though.
Apr 6, 2010 12:04am
A

Al Bundy

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4,180 posts
Apr 6, 2010 12:16 AM
Manhattan Buckeye wrote: Well at least he admits it is unpopular:

"Just about everybody disagrees with me on this (and I don't blame them),"

Basketball is played indoors and even in the northern states travel isn't a problem (unlike football), and it is a national sport. There are plenty of places that have the capabilities (facility, travel ease and hotels) that Indy has that also have tradition, seems unfair to have Indy keep the wealth every year regardless of whether it benefits one team or another.

And it really has 0% chance of happening...the other power conferences will go absolutely batshit over this.
The same power conferences that get to have all the major bowl games at home every year? I know it would never happen, but it would be nice to see Indy (or somewhere in the Midwest) rotated into the football championship game.
Apr 6, 2010 12:16am
LJ's avatar

LJ

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Apr 6, 2010 5:23 PM
Al Bundy wrote:
Manhattan Buckeye wrote: Well at least he admits it is unpopular:

"Just about everybody disagrees with me on this (and I don't blame them),"

Basketball is played indoors and even in the northern states travel isn't a problem (unlike football), and it is a national sport. There are plenty of places that have the capabilities (facility, travel ease and hotels) that Indy has that also have tradition, seems unfair to have Indy keep the wealth every year regardless of whether it benefits one team or another.

And it really has 0% chance of happening...the other power conferences will go absolutely batshit over this.
The same power conferences that get to have all the major bowl games at home every year? I know it would never happen, but it would be nice to see Indy (or somewhere in the Midwest) rotated into the football championship game.
I know this is the CBB forum, but I would LOVE to see Indy gain control of one of the major CFB bowl games. I wouldn't mind Dallas getting one either. Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10, SEC.
Apr 6, 2010 5:23pm
S

stlouiedipalma

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1,797 posts
Apr 6, 2010 5:52 PM
While I'm not a fan of using football stadiums for NCAA basketball, I do agree that Indy is the logical choice for the Final Four. Just like every HS program in Ohio has "going to Columbus" as their stated goal at the beginning of each season, the college teams could adopt "goin' to Indy" as their rallying cry. I have yet to hear any negative comments from fans about Indy. The folks there really "get it" when it comes to hosting this event.
Apr 6, 2010 5:52pm
tcarrier32's avatar

tcarrier32

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Apr 6, 2010 6:07 PM
i dont know if anyone else was there, and if you were feel free to agree or disagree, but i thought the venue sucked. almost every seat was far away from the court. i was in the 300's (the sections go all the way to 600) and they were worse than the nosebleeds at the schott.

i wouldnt mind it being in Indiana but the venue needs to be changed.
Apr 6, 2010 6:07pm
B

bigkahuna

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4,454 posts
Apr 6, 2010 8:51 PM
I wasn't there, but I could tell that by watching on tv.

Just like Syracuse's arena, when you play basketball in a football stadium, you will have that problem.

I had a picture of the MSU/UK game that was played in Ford Field a couple years ago from the top level. You couldn't tell which team was which.

I like that they had a big crowd there (70,000+), but I wouldnt want to use binoculars to watch a basketball game.
Apr 6, 2010 8:51pm
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

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Apr 6, 2010 9:49 PM
Its always like that with the new arenas they choose.
Apr 6, 2010 9:49pm