Should NCAA Basketball Tournament games be played in football stadiums?

[taterguy]

This is a serious question.

Today's regional NCAA Tournament games are being played in stadiums designed for and used by pro football teams. Venues that hold 50,000+ fans.

This is a trend that I absolutely despise.

First of all, it literally distorts the games. Players are used to shooting in arenas with much smaller dimensions (unless they play for Syracuse). Their shots get thrown off as they adjust to the different backgrounds that mega-arenas present. A mediocre defense can make a decent offense look terrible, just because the players miss shots they'd make in most other arenas.

Secondly, it takes the crowd out of the game. The great thing about basketball is the intimacy. The best venues are the ones where the players can hear the individual yells from the fans. The venue that visiting teams dread the most is Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, which holds about 9,000 people. A very thick skin is a requirement to play there. In the mega-arenas the fans might as well be in a different area code.

Lastly, how enjoyable is it for the fans to watch? I sat in the upper deck of the Dean Dome a couple times. It was impossible to see what was going on and you got a much better view just by watching the games on TV, which is why I rarely attended games in college, even though students got free tickets.

The people in the stands aren't there to watch a basketball game. They're there just to say that they were there, which is just silly.

And the fans at home get deprived of the passion and intensity that makes basketball such a beautiful game.

Why? Just so the NCAA can generate more revenue from sales of tickets, souvenirs and concessions.

:grr: :grr: :grr:

I'm intentionally posting this in GD because I think this is yet another example of greed run amok that's absolutely ruining something that was once wonderful.

What do you guys think?

[ShaneGR]

1. This probably belongs in the lounge.... as for why.... money

Large stadiums provide more money to the NCAA. This is no different than asking why in the movie Hoosiers they had to play in a large arena vs their small gym. Tickets=money. Also, more people get to see it in person vs on tv. The media covering it have better angles to take video & photos. etc etc etc

[taterguy]

2. I've never seen Hoosiers

Does it portray a game played in a building that wasn't designed for basketball?

[BearSquirrel2]

5. They measure the court ...

In Hoosiers, coach makes the players measure the court so they realize that it is exactly the same size court in a much bigger building (the fieldhouse at Butler University).

[taterguy]

7. Does that answer my question in any way shape or form?

Was the building designed for basketball?
Yes or no?

[BearSquirrel2]

8. The court is designed for basketball ...

The court is designed for basketball, that's all that matters.

Do you REALLY have to ask if a fieldhouse in Indiana is designed for basketball?

[taterguy]

9. The court itself is not what matters and that's my point

Football stadiums are not appropriate places for basketball games, for the reasons stated in my OP

[BearSquirrel2]

11. How about ...

How about outdoor parks? Are those designed for basketball? Yeah, I can see all those guys standing around bitching because the seating capacity at the park isn't quite right. And whats with those steel nets? Surely those must interfere with the shooting.

A couple of years ago, some players were complaining about the "wind" in the RCA Dome. They assumed because there was a rush when you opened the door to the place, that there must be "wind" inside the stadium. Theres that college education for you. The moral is ... people make up reasons to bitch. Your posts are proof.

Get your measurin' tape out. It's the same court.

[stevedeshazer]

3. I agree with you.

My favorite team, Portland State, plays in a gym that holds 1500 and is maybe half-full. That will change since they made the tournament for the first time this season.

But, like rock concerts, basketball games aren't meant to be seen in giant arenas.

[taterguy]

4. At least at rock concerts the folks on stage are getting paid

Which is the subject of another rant altogether.

[msongs]

6. ncaa final four basketballers are mostly getting paid - only it's not called "pay" nt

[taterguy]

10. Well the ones from UCLA are

But not the pure and pristine UNC Tarheels.

[tuckessee]

12. I agree. Football type venues ruin one of the best things about college hoops.

My favorite college site is Memorial Gym at Vanderbilt which holds about 13,000.

Talk about a unique setting. Talk about crowd intimacy. That's Memorial Magic.

The 'Dores were undefeated at home this season.

Years ago they occasionally held first & second round NCAA games there. In '89 I watched #16 seed East Tennessee almost beat #1 Oklahoma. Even then, I was convinced the intimate & intense atmosphere enabled ESU to battle so hard.

[RB TexLa]

13. It takes less time to adjust to the difference than you'd think and there isn't supposed

to be a crowd advantage in the tournament.

[tuckessee]

15. No crowd advantage?

Tell that to UNC's last four opponents.

[fujiyama]

14. Maybe it's just me

but it's hard for me to get too worked up over this.

A large stadium means more people can go and enjoy the game. Fine with me. If the basketball court matches the regulations set forth by the NCAA, I don't see what the problem is.

Aren't these damn stadiums subsidized by tax payers? What a waste. If corporations want them, they should pay for the property and to build it...but that whole thing is a different topic...