The Palestra



Ok, this is an old article.. and I know many will disagree (including Temple fans) but I think the conference should really revisit the idea of having this CBB historical landmark, The Palestra, as the American's venue for the tournament.
It gives the tournament an air of importance. The venue is a brand in itself. It's also a smaller venue, which I also think is a good thing.
What better city than Philly to represent the American Championship?
This tournament should be made more special by injecting some CBB history and lore into it.
The Palestra also has the two-fold advantage of being in a members city as well as a neutral venue. It's also in one of our more basketball crazy regions, within reasonable driving distance to our biggest MBB brands.
This whole "central location" mumbo jumbo is not going to help attendance. The tournament needs to be made more special through branding, and this is a way to do it. Besides, the one advantage the AAC has over other conferences anyway is our proximity to airports. We don't need to worry about meeting in the middle.
The city of Philadelphia will always provide a great backdrop for the conference. It's a symbol as well.
If we're going to build television value in the AAC tournament, we need to think about these details which enhance the presentation. For a young conference, it gives the allure of tradition.
I'm sure that was a great factor in considering this site during the initial search. Those reasons are still valid. I don't think we've seen anything since to support the alternative choices we've gone with instead.

From the archives:

http://www.thedp.com/blog/buzz/2013/04/p...ce-tourney

Quote:Palestra a potential site for AAC conference tourney

It appears that the old Big East's loss could be the Palestra's gain.
Sources close to the American Athletic Conference recently reported that the Palestra is one of the potential sites for the new conference's basketball tournaments moving forward.
The conference hit the hardest by realignment was, without question, the Big East. One of the premiere basketball leagues in the nation, the Big East was hampered when schools like Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Louisville decided to make the move to the ACC.

While the future looked bleak for the Big East for some time, the conference passed the point of no return when seven of 10 schools decided to form their own basketball conference.
Although the "Catholic Seven" schools and their new fellow league members will maintain the Big East name, a new conference, the American Athletic Conference (AAC), has taken form in response to the collapse of the former Big East.
Current Big East members Louisville, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Rutgers and USF will join up with Temple, Houston, Memphis, SMU and UCF in the AAC next season. Louisville and Rutgers will depart the conference in 2014, while three more schools, ECU, Tulane and Tulsa enter.
The 2013-14 school year will be the first in which the AAC participates in college athletics. Because the league can no longer play its college basketball tournaments at Madison Square Garden in New York (as was tradition in the old Big East), the AAC needs to find a new site.
According to Mark Blaudschun, AAC commissioner, Mike Aresco, is a fan of the historic nature of Penn's basketball arena. Moreover, the Palestra seats fewer than 9,000 people, and the small size of the venue would create an increased demand for tickets to the multi-day event.
Arenas in Hartford, Memphis and Orlando also remain in the mix.
While it remains to be seen if the Palestra is chosen as a site for the first AAC Tournament, the arena is certainly a possibility. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament in either men's or women's basketball, and the Penn basketball seasons' typically end prior to the beginning of conference tournament season.

Ivy league started a tournament this year and this is their venue, we're late to the party.

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Horrible idea. Temple doesn't draw to their own gum, and Philly is not really close to any conference school. Tourney should be played annually either at Memphis or at UC's newly -renovated on-campus arena. I'd be ok with New Orleans but never would expect any Tulane fans to show up.

I would think the AAC should wait until early April of each year, discuss the BB programs honestly with the ADs, determine the top 2-3 teams for the next season, and ask the cities to prepare bids within 2 weeks. Then simply pick the best bid (guaranteed tickets, hotel deals, etc.). The TV money is already locked in.

I know MEMPHIS hosted the C-USA tourney most years from 2005 - 2012 since they clearly guaranteed the most ticket sales. The AAC is much better balanced, and since the TV monies are not that high, costs must be contained where possible. That's the reality.

Do the bidding and appointment by May 1 of each year. Assigning them 3 years in advance is a crap shoot.

Ive really warmed to the idea of sticking it in New Orleans and just leaving it there. Put the early games in the Tulane arena (only holds about 4K). Play the later rounds in a larger place. Thats a reasonable makeable drive for Houston, SMU, UCF,USF, Memphis...maybe even Tulsa. Work with the city to put all the fans in a couple of hotels so all the AAC folks are in one place and can kinda feel like they are taking over Bourbon Street. Put together cheap hotel/flight packages for those hotels and distribute them to the schools. Maybe have the AAC plan a few events for the fans to make the experience more like a bowl game. Make it fun and maybe we can get it to the point that it becomes a enjoyable tradition that fans plan for and enjoy.

(03-11-2017 08:31 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Ive really warmed to the idea of sticking it in New Orleans and just leaving it there. Put the early games in the Tulane arena (only holds about 4K). Play the later rounds in a larger place. Thats a reasonable makeable drive for Houston, SMU, UCF,USF, Memphis...maybe even Tulsa. Work with the city to put all the fans in a couple of hotels so all the AAC folks are in one place and can kinda feel like they are taking over Bourbon Street. Put together cheap hotel/flight packages for those hotels and distribute them to the schools. Maybe have the AAC plan a few events for the fans to make the experience more like a bowl game. Make it fun and maybe we can get it to the point that it becomes a enjoyable tradition that fans plan for and enjoy.

I agree. Some folks want it in a neutral site, but where would that be? Nashville? Atlanta? The AAC imho isn't prominent enough to make a go of it in a neutral site. And we can forget any centrally located city--the league is just too far flung.

Many teams would outdraw Tulane in New Orleans anyway, so not much of a homecourt edge. Does Tulane still even play at the downtown arena anymore for any games? Yeah, I know, fans should attend for the bball, but the city would add allure if your team has an early exit. The league needs stability and tradition, so just make Nola the permanent location. UNO also has a 9000 seat arena out by the lakefront which might come in handy.

Sunbelt has their tournament in the Lakefront Arena.

I think we should hold our tournament outside on the beach in Daytona, air it on MTV, and bring back Spring Break.

(03-12-2017 09:13 AM)Chappy Wrote:  I think we should hold our tournament outside on the beach in Daytona, air it on MTV, and bring back Spring Break.

With Downtown Julie Brown?

I like Orlando. The weather is perfect in early March.

(03-12-2017 09:13 AM)Chappy Wrote:  I think we should hold our tournament outside on the beach in Daytona, air it on MTV, and bring back Spring Break.

Daytona Beach Ocean Center is located right across the street from the beach.

They have hosted hoop games in the past, including a tournament in November in the past that UCF played in.



DYK: One of the first basketball games played at that hall/arena was Stetson vs Duke back in the 80's.

What about the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex... That would provide good synergy with the WWL.

Truth is, from an attendance POV there's probably no good spot to hold the AAC tournament. We can get lucky in a given year - if e.g. it's being held in Memphis and Memphis happens to be 28-2 and #3 in the country (those days aren't coming back, btw, but if), then attendance will be great as Memphis fans fill up the arena.

But other than that, no dice, it is what it is.

(03-11-2017 09:40 PM)cotton1991 Wrote:  Does Tulane still even play at the downtown arena anymore for any games?

We played UNC there for the season-opener in November. I think the plan is to have one game there each season against a high-profile OOC opponent. Whether that actually happens or not... we shall see.

Quote:I know, fans should attend for the bball, but the city would add allure if your team has an early exit. The league needs stability and tradition, so just make Nola the permanent location.

Agreed.

Quote:UNO also has a 9000 seat arena out by the lakefront which might come in handy.

Hmm... maybe. It's pretty far out of the way, not close to hotels/restaurants/streetcars/etc.

(03-12-2017 10:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  Truth is, from an attendance POV there's probably no good spot to hold the AAC tournament. We can get lucky in a given year - if e.g. it's being held in Memphis and Memphis happens to be 28-2 and #3 in the country (those days aren't coming back, btw, but if), then attendance will be great as Memphis fans fill up the arena.

But other than that, no dice, it is what it is.

Not really.

What needs to happen is the tournament needs to stop moving around and it needs to be built into a tradition.
It's one of those things that takes time. For example, the NBE is still piggybacking on the exploits of the big schools that left, who made it an event for the locals.
It'll also help when the programs in the AAC mature under the stewardship of our new coaches.. Dawkins, Dunleavy, Tubby, Sampson, Janks, Haith, etc.
Truth is, it was always going to take time to establish these patterns. But, its one of those things the conference has to be mindful of to chart course for a pattern as the league grows into its own.
This was never an overnight build, and that's ok. It's good to see all of the new facilities and coaches coming into the conference. It's going to be competitive. Aresco needs to decide on the best situation to maximize that commitment.

(03-12-2017 10:36 AM)BigEastHomer Wrote:  What about the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex... That would provide good synergy with the WWL.

That's not a bad idea.

(03-12-2017 10:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  Truth is, from an attendance POV there's probably no good spot to hold the AAC tournament. We can get lucky in a given year - if e.g. it's being held in Memphis and Memphis happens to be 28-2 and #3 in the country (those days aren't coming back, btw, but if), then attendance will be great as Memphis fans fill up the arena.

But other than that, no dice, it is what it is.

agree

(03-11-2017 08:31 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  Ive really warmed to the idea of sticking it in New Orleans and just leaving it there. Put the games in the Tulane arena (only holds about 4K). Thats a reasonable makeable drive for Houston, SMU, UCF,USF, Memphis...maybe even Tulsa. Work with the city to put all the fans in a couple of hotels so all the AAC folks are in one place and can kinda feel like they are taking over Bourbon Street. Put together cheap hotel/flight packages for those hotels and distribute them to the schools. Maybe have the AAC plan a few events for the fans to make the experience more like a bowl game. Make it fun and maybe we can get it to the point that it becomes a enjoyable tradition that fans plan for and enjoy.

FIFY

Play the tournament at the home court of the regular season champ. If it can be done for football (team w/the best record), why not basketball?

Anybody want to go to Atlantic City every March? Like the A10 used to?

Why yes I can drive to AC easily, but I don't see how that's relevant...