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+----- Thread: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC (/thread-851919.html)
CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - mrjoolius - 06-17-2018 07:36 PM
https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/caa-basketball-tournament-expected-to-move-to-washington-d-c/article_c5d0c6ac-700f-11e8-ad9e-9bb4e1c89e40.html
Future home of the Washington Mystics - 4,500 seat venue. More centralized location to the league, and definitely a closer to home court advantage for the VA /MD teams. Should remove the extreme travel for fans (NE to Charleston - 14.5 hr drive) and put the bulk of the conference at less than 5 hrs away.
Charleston to DC - 8 hrs
Boston MA - 7 hrs
Wilmington NC - 5.5 hrs
Hempstead NY - 4.5 hrs
Elon NC - 4.5 hrs
Williamsburg VA - 3 hrs
Philly PA - 2.5 hrs
Harrisonburg VA - 2 hrs
Newark DE - 2 hrs
Towson MD - 1.5 hrs
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Tribeheart - 06-17-2018 08:29 PM
Question will be if hotel and restaurant development has happened near it by the time the tournament moves there in two seasons. I could only find generic mentions of residential/office/retail development planned with no names, timing, etc. Maybe someone on here is more familiar with the area, but doesn't sound like much exists there now?
Like the prospect of being in a more central location, but some real doubts about what will make this new venue an attractive area for fans to be for 3+ days.
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RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - mrjoolius - 06-17-2018 08:43 PM
(06-17-2018 08:29 PM)Tribeheart Wrote: Question will be if hotel and restaurant development has happened near it by the time the tournament moves there in two seasons. I could only find generic mentions of residential/office/retail development planned with no names, timing, etc. Maybe someone on here is more familiar with the area, but doesn't sound like much exists there now?To be honest, it is a pretty crappy area right now. The whole point of the arena is to revitalize the area. That said, there is close metro (Congress Heights - about 3 stops from the Capitol) and you are a quick drive from downtown. You are also about 15 minutes from National Harbor. As far as a destination with lodging and decent bars, I'm not sure that kind of development will be done yet.
Like the prospect of being in a more central location, but some real doubts about what will make this new venue an attractive place to be for 3+ days.
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RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - LeadBolt - 06-17-2018 08:43 PM
The article has this as a 4,200 seat arena. That seems a bit small for a 10 school league. I'm glad it's going to be in DC.
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - mrjoolius - 06-17-2018 08:57 PM
(06-17-2018 08:43 PM)LeadBolt Wrote: The article has this as a 4,200 seat arena. That seems a bit small for a 10 school league. I'm glad it's going to be in DC.I agree 4200 sounds small, and it is for a tournament arena. But it should make a more raucous feel than the cavernous arenas in Richmond, Baltimore, and Charleston. The reality is a lot of the team's fan bases don't travel. I think the intimate confines will make for a better experience.
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Tribeheart - 06-17-2018 09:00 PM
(06-17-2018 08:43 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:I think close by bars/restaurants/hotels for fans and opposing fans to mix is a big ingredient to any success. As things appear right now, I would commute from Richmond for sessions, as opposed to making it an overnight/weekend destination, but would much rather have it be the latter. Again, I like having it in DC, but shaky on the choice.(06-17-2018 08:29 PM)Tribeheart Wrote: Question will be if hotel and restaurant development has happened near it by the time the tournament moves there in two seasons. I could only find generic mentions of residential/office/retail development planned with no names, timing, etc. Maybe someone on here is more familiar with the area, but doesn't sound like much exists there now?To be honest, it is a pretty crappy area right now. The whole point of the arena is to revitalize the area. That said, there is close metro (Congress Heights - about 3 stops from the Capitol) and you are a quick drive from downtown. As far as a destination with lodging and decent bars, I'm not sure that kind of development will be done yet.
Like the prospect of being in a more central location, but some real doubts about what will make this new venue an attractive place to be for 3+ days.
Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app
Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - mrjoolius - 06-17-2018 09:11 PM
(06-17-2018 09:00 PM)Tribeheart Wrote:I hear you on the fan mingling. I would think that would be tough without some real built up infrastructure. Me personally, if I wasn't local, would be to stay downtown in DC and metro in. Or, even better, stay at National Harbor where they have fantastic restaurants, bars, and the MGM casino. That's about 15 minutes away. Not great for fan mingling, but potentially a fun trip.(06-17-2018 08:43 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:I think close by bars/restaurants/hotels for fans and opposing fans to mix is a big ingredient to any success. As things appear right now, I would commute from Richmond for sessions, as opposed to making it an overnight/weekend destination, but would much rather have it be the latter. Again, I like having it in DC, but shaky on the choice.(06-17-2018 08:29 PM)Tribeheart Wrote: Question will be if hotel and restaurant development has happened near it by the time the tournament moves there in two seasons. I could only find generic mentions of residential/office/retail development planned with no names, timing, etc. Maybe someone on here is more familiar with the area, but doesn't sound like much exists there now?To be honest, it is a pretty crappy area right now. The whole point of the arena is to revitalize the area. That said, there is close metro (Congress Heights - about 3 stops from the Capitol) and you are a quick drive from downtown. As far as a destination with lodging and decent bars, I'm not sure that kind of development will be done yet.
Like the prospect of being in a more central location, but some real doubts about what will make this new venue an attractive place to be for 3+ days.
Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app
Sent from my SM-N910V using CSNbbs mobile app
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Tribeheart - 06-17-2018 09:20 PM
Richmond used to set up tents and have the CAA Zone outside around the Coliseum (but there was still a half functioning 6th St. Marketplace back then.) If they have the surrounding space to create a large closed-in area with food/beer/wine trucks to attract fans before, during and after games, then it could work, but does anybody think the current CAA HQ's would be that proactive/creative?
Regarding the size, DC will not pull any ticket buyers outside alums, but most sessions should still be shooting for sellouts which will raise energy level coming in.
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RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - TDenverFan - 06-18-2018 07:31 AM
At least it should sell out, but it does seem like a few thousand extra seats would be nice
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Tribe32 - 06-18-2018 08:02 AM
Monumental Sports (Ted Leonsis' company) is first class and I expect nothing less from this new arena. The location is mostly residential surrounding the hospital. Over time it should attract some decent retail and hotels. If you knew what the neighborhood around Nats park was like before they tore it down, most folks would be horrified. It took a while, but there are good restaurants, bars, etc. near the park. I expect this site will develop nicely. Given the lack of hotels there currently I hope that the CAA will work with National Harbor to get a deal for the fans and/or shuttles. There is no metro at National Harbor, but you have the Gaylord and many other hotels in addition to MGM.
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - tribeinexile - 06-18-2018 08:03 AM
Am I the only one who thinks the Tribe should have the largest fan turnout in a tourney in the DC area? Towson is close but does not travel well. JMU is in a down period. CofC has historically not travelled well. UNC-W travels well but is further away.
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Zorch - 06-18-2018 08:09 AM
4200 seats will not be enough to satisfy all of the rabid Tribe fans wanting to attend the final, especially if we haven't already broken through to the NCAAT in 2019. (Who knows, maybe having won the conference tournament finals three straight years (2019-2021) will make another final appearance in the last year (2022) seem like old hat to Tribe fans -- but not to me!)
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Tribe32 - 06-18-2018 09:22 AM
I think we could easily draw 1000-1500 fans from DC/RVA, etc. by car. This is when William and Mary can step up and do things like creating a travel package with bus, hotel, pregame events, etc. I don't think that the math worked for Charleston, but it will in DC.
CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - tke75hawk - 06-18-2018 10:00 AM
I will not be going .I do not do any caa games north of richmond.only way I go north is if uncw is in ncaa traffic is a problem
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RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - mrjoolius - 06-18-2018 10:07 AM
I know the DC location won't make the southernmost schools happy, but it does place the tournament geographically as middle of the conference as possible. Location wise DC makes sense. Fan amenities wise they will need some improvements.
CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - tke75hawk - 06-18-2018 10:16 AM
Look at attendance for caa home games.uncw Charleston and William and Mary are the the only schools with strong attendance. So less fans will be at DC except for w&m
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RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - Mrs. Got Ribe - 06-18-2018 10:53 AM
(06-17-2018 08:57 PM)mrjoolius Wrote: I agree 4200 sounds small, and it is for a tournament arena. But it should make a more raucous feel than the cavernous arenas in Richmond, Baltimore, and Charleston. I think the intimate confines will make for a better experience.
A jam-packed 4200 atmosphere will be incredible. I'm looking forward to it. (And, we won't have to worry about hard-nosed ushers keeping us from moving fans down into the open seats.)
RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - mrjoolius - 06-18-2018 11:38 AM
(06-18-2018 10:16 AM)tke75hawk Wrote: Look at attendance for caa home games.uncw Charleston and William and Mary are the the only schools with strong attendance. So less fans will be at DC except for w&mThose 3 have strong attendance. It also helps that these programs have been winning. True, schools like NE & Hofstra will probably struggle to draw, but other schools with an alumni footprint in the region will draw if their team is winning. There are a lot of alums league wide in the DC area.
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CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - tke75hawk - 06-18-2018 11:40 AM
When we were lost 20 games 4 years in a row we still had 3500 going to games.
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RE: CAA Tourney to Move to Washington DC - tribetime10 - 06-18-2018 11:44 AM
(06-18-2018 10:53 AM)Mrs. Got Ribe Wrote:(06-17-2018 08:57 PM)mrjoolius Wrote: I agree 4200 sounds small, and it is for a tournament arena. But it should make a more raucous feel than the cavernous arenas in Richmond, Baltimore, and Charleston. I think the intimate confines will make for a better experience.
A jam-packed 4200 atmosphere will be incredible. I'm looking forward to it. (And, we won't have to worry about hard-nosed ushers keeping us from moving fans down into the open seats.)
Smaller arenas make for a fun environment and I love relocation to DC...But 4200 does seem just a touch too small. Just at a quick glance, I think 4,200 would be the smallest non-campus site tournament. (Southland tournament in Katy Texas holds about 5,500).
For context...Approximate capacities:
Royal Farms: 14,000
North Charleston: 13,300
Siegel Center (VCU): 7,617
Matthews (NE): 6,000
Carpenter Center (UD): 5,000