(03-17-2015 12:11 PM)panama Wrote:  Now that is the response I expected

Columbus, GA!?!?!?

Geez Louise!

What wrong with Columbus, panama.

(03-17-2015 01:11 PM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:11 PM)panama Wrote:  Now that is the response I expected

Columbus, GA!?!?!?

Geez Louise!

What wrong with Columbus, panama.

Not a known vacation spot.

(03-17-2015 01:11 PM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:11 PM)panama Wrote:  Now that is the response I expected

Columbus, GA!?!?!?

Geez Louise!

What wrong with Columbus, panama.

Logistically could be a pain. Unless you are driving from the NE the last hour to two hours of your drive is not interstate quality road. Last flight out is at 5:30. The only airline is Delta, and 4 flights a day from Atlanta is the only service.

My choices. Separated into tiers but in no particular order after that. All are places with airports and/or interstates. 1 and 2 all have arenas that shouldn't be too big and wouldn't have to have us on someone else's full-time home court. I'd fully expect the conference to be able to afford tiers 1 and 2. Additionally, I understand that the conference has been to many of these places before, when FL was represented in the membership. Tier 1 locations might be able to boost student attendance if timed with spring break/st. pat's and should be fun for everyone. Tier 2 locations should be fun, but without the spring break scene.

1) Jacksonville, FL; Savannah, GA; Gulfport, MS; Pensacola, FL

2) Greenville, SC; Asheville, NC; Baton Rouge, LA; Huntsville, AL

3) Nashville, TN; Winston-Salem, NC; Columbus, GA; Duluth, GA; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; New Orleans, LA

(03-17-2015 01:42 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:11 PM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:11 PM)panama Wrote:  Now that is the response I expected

Columbus, GA!?!?!?

Geez Louise!

What wrong with Columbus, panama.

Logistically could be a pain. Unless you are driving from the NE the last hour to two hours of your drive is not interstate quality road. Last flight out is at 5:30. The only airline is Delta, and 4 flights a day from Atlanta is the only service.

Plus you have to connect from everywhere except Atlanta.

Pensacola:
Pensacola Bay Center

Gulfport:
Mississippi Coast Coliseum

I'd be good with these.

(03-17-2015 01:42 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:11 PM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:11 PM)panama Wrote:  Now that is the response I expected

Columbus, GA!?!?!?

Geez Louise!

What wrong with Columbus, panama.

Logistically could be a pain. Unless you are driving from the NE the last hour to two hours of your drive is not interstate quality road. Last flight out is at 5:30. The only airline is Delta, and 4 flights a day from Atlanta is the only service.

From the West it is a 30 minute max drive time during rush hour from I-85 on a 4 lane divide highway to the Columbus Civic Center. Yes the airport is small with very few flights in and out but there is very little demand for flights in an out of Columbus due to the easy access to Atlanta.

Attendance at that final game was horrid. I'll admit, Southern fans did not show up. The basketball traveling culture has not been established for Georgia Southern.

Having the game rotate would be ideal. A location in Atlanta would pack the seats for several schools in the conference. I like the idea of a conference tournament in a sunny beach location as well.

(03-17-2015 02:06 PM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  Yes the airport is small with very few flights in and out but there is very little demand for flights in an out of Columbus due to the easy access to Atlanta.

I think that is where there rub would be. If everyone who isn't driving would have to fly through or to Atlanta in order to get there, you'd be better off exploring Atlanta as an option.

(03-17-2015 01:52 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  Pensacola:
Pensacola Bay Center

Gulfport:
Mississippi Coast Coliseum

I'd be good with these.

The American South use to play the conference tournament in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It was nothing special.

Pensacola or Mobile, what is the difference? Both have good arenas, but would still be considered home court for USA.

It still comes back to someone marketing and selling your product. We can all help by improving our attendance and programs first.

(03-17-2015 02:34 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:52 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  Pensacola:
Pensacola Bay Center

Gulfport:
Mississippi Coast Coliseum

I'd be good with these.

The American South use to play the conference tournament in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It was nothing special.

Pensacola or Mobile, what is the difference? Both have good arenas, but would still be considered home court for USA.

It still comes back to someone marketing and selling your product. We can all help by improving our attendance and programs first.

Pensacola caters to tourism and events.
Access to the beach is even easier than Mobile.
South would be a bit of a "Home" team, but you wouldn't care while you sat on the beach or toured the restaurants downtown.

If they held the tournament there, I doubt anyone who attended would want it anywhere else.

(03-17-2015 02:34 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:52 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  Pensacola:
Pensacola Bay Center

Gulfport:
Mississippi Coast Coliseum

I'd be good with these.

Pensacola or Mobile, what is the difference?

One is 45 min to an hour to the beach and the other is 10 minutes.

Why people want to hold a tournament in a place that does not care of you are there or not is beyond me.

Atlanta, Memphis, and New Orleans do not give a crap. The tourney impact on their economies would be almost not measurable.

The media will pay the same attention whether you hold it in NOLA or Hattiesburg....none.

Places the size of Savannah, Panama City, Biloxi, and yes Hot Springs, are the type/size of places you should examine.

(03-17-2015 02:54 PM)Dedsquirrl Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 02:34 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:52 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  Pensacola:
Pensacola Bay Center

Gulfport:
Mississippi Coast Coliseum

I'd be good with these.

The American South use to play the conference tournament in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It was nothing special.

Pensacola or Mobile, what is the difference? Both have good arenas, but would still be considered home court for USA.

It still comes back to someone marketing and selling your product. We can all help by improving our attendance and programs first.

Pensacola caters to tourism and events.
Access to the beach is even easier than Mobile.
South would be a bit of a "Home" team, but you wouldn't care while you sat on the beach or toured the restaurants downtown.

If they held the tournament there, I doubt anyone who attended would want it anywhere else.

Pensacola would fit the model.

Sun Belt Schools & Venue Options

So here are most of the venues people have suggested. I took out ones that were beyond our furthest out schools, like Winston-Salem, and the ones currently hosting other tournaments, like Nashville.



Your venue choices are:
Century Link Center
Bossier City, LA - Capacity 10,658

Bank of the Ozarks Arena
Hot Springs, AR - Capacity 6,300

Baton Rouge River Center
Baton Rouge, LA - Capacity 8,900

Lakefront Arena
New Orleans, LA - Capacity 8,933

The Landers Center
Southaven, MS - Capacity 8,360

Mississippi Coast Coliseum
Gulfport, MS - Capacity 10,066

Pensacola Bay Center
Pensacola, FL - Capacity 8,150

Von Braun Center
Huntsville, AL - Capacity 7,198

Columbus Civic Center
Columbus, GA - Capacity 7,671

The Gwinnett Center
Duluth, GA - Capacity 12,750

Bon Secours Wellness Arena
Greenville, SC Capacity 14,897

If they didn't list their basketball capacity I took their hockey capacity. It usually was a range of a couple hundred either way.

(03-17-2015 11:18 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 10:57 AM)chiefsfan Wrote:  Also, I absolutely loathe playing this on the floor of a Southland Conference School.

I don't get why it isn't played across the street from the Sun Belt offices at the Pelicans Arena. Closer to the Quarter. Walking distance from hotels. Missed opportunity to me.

The league priced it and it was outrageous.

At one point they considered using the Hot Springs double court format at the New Orleans Convention Center and then moving the finals to the Pels arena.

(03-17-2015 11:38 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:30 AM)panama Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:27 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:18 AM)panama Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:18 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  I don't get why it isn't played across the street from the Sun Belt offices at the Pelicans Arena. Closer to the Quarter. Walking distance from hotels. Missed opportunity to me.

$$$

Ahhh. This is the King Creole Karl Benson you are talking about. It is all about Louisiana all the time.

I am sure UNO's arena cost less than an NBA arena. So if Atlanta were an option would it be in Phillips or Gwinnett?

Gwinnett is the wrong place. Yes. Philips would be more, but that is where you need to do it. If the Big East can figure out how to afford Madison Square Garden, the Sun Belt needs to figure out a lease with Philips Arena or Smoothie King Center. Or don't come to Atlanta via Gwinnett and don't play on UNOs court.

You do know that the Big East TV contract is bigger than the AAC's don't you? Plus Big East turns out a lot of grads who are on the board of directors of major companies in NYC who happily write checks to sponsor the league tournament.

(03-17-2015 12:06 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:38 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:30 AM)panama Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:27 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:18 AM)panama Wrote:  $$$

Ahhh. This is the King Creole Karl Benson you are talking about. It is all about Louisiana all the time.

I am sure UNO's arena cost less than an NBA arena. So if Atlanta were an option would it be in Phillips or Gwinnett?

Gwinnett is the wrong place. Yes. Philips would be more, but that is where you need to do it. If the Big East can figure out how to afford Madison Square Garden, the Sun Belt needs to figure out a lease with Philips Arena or Smoothie King Center. Or don't come to Atlanta via Gwinnett and don't play on UNOs court.

It would be a joke to hold the Sun Belt tournament in an 18,000 seat arena. A 6200 seat arena, like Hot Springs, is perfect. Maybe we could even fill it one day. Von Braun Center in Huntsville, which seats, 7000 for basketball, would be good. Maybe Columbus, Ga which looks like it has a really nice new arena. Southaven, just south of Memphis could work as well. I would rather have it in a smaller city, with a more cozy arena, that might "embrace" the tourney like Hot Springs did. The costs in Atlanta, New Orleans, etc. are simply more than a lot of Sun Belt fans want to pay. I also don't think it should be in the home city of a conference team. If we do that, we may as well go back to having it at campus sites.

I don't care if we are in a school's home city, just not on their court. If a viable spot in Atlanta is found, I'm OK with it though I've no idea what hotel costs are these days in Atlanta. Likewise if Little Rock were to put together a good bid for Verizon Arena I'm comfortable with that. If Mobile has a suitable place that USA doesn't use, I'm fine with that as well.

(03-17-2015 12:14 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 12:06 PM)mjs Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:38 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:30 AM)panama Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 11:27 AM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  Ahhh. This is the King Creole Karl Benson you are talking about. It is all about Louisiana all the time.

I am sure UNO's arena cost less than an NBA arena. So if Atlanta were an option would it be in Phillips or Gwinnett?

Gwinnett is the wrong place. Yes. Philips would be more, but that is where you need to do it. If the Big East can figure out how to afford Madison Square Garden, the Sun Belt needs to figure out a lease with Philips Arena or Smoothie King Center. Or don't come to Atlanta via Gwinnett and don't play on UNOs court.

It would be a joke to hold the Sun Belt tournament in an 18,000 seat arena. A 6200 seat arena, like Hot Springs, is perfect. Maybe we could even fill it one day. Von Braun Center in Huntsville, which seats, 7000 for basketball, would be good. Maybe Columbus, Ga which looks like it has a really nice new arena. Southaven, just south of Memphis could work as well. I would rather have it in a smaller city, with a more cozy arena, that might "embrace" the tourney like Hot Springs did. The costs in Atlanta, New Orleans, etc. are simply more than a lot of Sun Belt fans want to pay. I also don't think it should be in the home city of a conference team. If we do that, we may as well go back to having it at campus sites.

Hot Springs has no major airport, so and flying into Little Rock has less options then in Atlanta or New Orleans for that matter. It worked fine when we had members in driving distance like Denton, Murpfreesboro and Bowling Green, we don't today. It's not a fit for today's conference. I know you guys at UALR and Astate would love to have it back in Arkansas, but your own home attendance is not what it use to be either. You guys are beginning to sound like a broken record with daily post about Hot Springs.

Considering the conference broke the contract a year early I wouldn't expect to see Hot Springs waste postage on a bid.

You can call it a broken record but I think anyone paying attention should have learned the following from the Hot Springs experience.

1. It works best as an all comers tournament.
2. If it is all comers you need a two floor solution and that means either one great building or a good arena and some sort of acceptable second floor building.
3. The demographic that will actually travel and attend many games, not just their own team, wants hotels, restaurants, shopping in reasonably close proximity to the venue.
4. The demographic that will travel and stay several days wants reasonably priced accomodations and wants some degree of proximity to RV parks because there are several who do that. In Biloxi the Coliseum allowed RV parking and a couple I knew parked at the far edge so they were about halfway between the beach and the arena. They liked it.
5. The demographic that will travel and stay does not want to fight major metro area traffic to get to and from games each day.

You will not convince me that between Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and the Florida panhandle that Hot Springs is that unique in being able to offer all that.

I don't damn believe it. There is another site out there probably several that are workable that aren't Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Nashville size cities and likely have better air access than Hot Springs.

You call it a broken record because all you see is "that worked better" and presume it is the only place it can be done. I think Hot Springs showed us the formula and there are other places where the fomula can work.

(03-17-2015 02:54 PM)Dedsquirrl Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 02:34 PM)CrazyCajun Wrote:  

(03-17-2015 01:52 PM)StanMolsonMan Wrote:  Pensacola:
Pensacola Bay Center

Gulfport:
Mississippi Coast Coliseum

I'd be good with these.

The American South use to play the conference tournament in the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. It was nothing special.

Pensacola or Mobile, what is the difference? Both have good arenas, but would still be considered home court for USA.

It still comes back to someone marketing and selling your product. We can all help by improving our attendance and programs first.

Pensacola caters to tourism and events.
Access to the beach is even easier than Mobile.
South would be a bit of a "Home" team, but you wouldn't care while you sat on the beach or toured the restaurants downtown.

If they held the tournament there, I doubt anyone who attended would want it anywhere else.

Been there and done that friend. Beaches are attractive, food and night life can be surpassed in New Orleans or Atlanta by a long shot. The bottom line, if your product is worth a city hosting it, you will be welcomed. But don't depend upon the Sun Belt Conference to market it to anyone well. I still go back to conference home attendance and don't see how anyone posting in this thread can say they will come if you host it in A or B city. There is no evidence of it when you can't do it at home.