MVC Tourney

[CincyPanther88]

You have to think the Illinois and Indiana schools would balk at this.

I remember back in the days of the Big 8 tournament - and in the early days of the Big 12 - you would hear stories about how ISU fans would just have such a good time in Westport - Kelly's I believe was the place. It sounded like quite the party. So I would think that while St. Louis does have a lot to offer in the general vicinity of the arena, KC has its charms as well. For me, personally, it would suck since there's no way in hell I'm driving from Cincy to KC but I would be more likely to drive to St. Louis. But it's a lot shorter drive there and back for the people still in the area.

[Matt Trump]

You have to think the Illinois and Indiana schools would balk at this.

Creighton, Drake, and our team has to travel a long way to St Louis for the tourney.

[BCPanther]

I really think that it would be a good move to rotate the two cities. Realistically, StL is closer for 5 teams and KC is closer for the other 5.

I have seen people that are worried about the distance for the Indiana schools, but to be honest those two don't really bring many fans either.

Not to start a Valley re-organization discussion, but I would like to see those two removed from the Valley and replaced with UW-Milwaukee and another school that better fits the geographic profile (DePaul??)...

[Matt Trump]

Are people (in very large numbers, recently) attending the tournament in St. Louis to see basketball, and everything else is secondary, or are they going to experience the city, and see some basketball while they are at it.

Secondly, does the event make the people, or do the people define the event?

Judging by attendance figures, people are there to go to the game 1st and do other things in St. Louis during free time.

Fans of this conference attend the event to see good basketball. They will travel to KC for it as well.

[BCPanther]

Matt,
Don't forget WSU as well...

[CincyPanther88]

Creighton, Drake, and our team has to travel a long way to St Louis for the tourney.

You're absolutely right. But for a team like SIU, having the tournament in StL is like having it in Cedar Rapids for us. Hopefully all those Indiana and Illinois schools will be altruistic enough to make a decision on what is good for the league and not what's good for them. Even Missouri St. might welcome a move to K.C. I think rotating it every 3-4 years is a good idea. It's fair for everyone. But there needs to be a catchy nickname for the tournament like "Arch Madness."

[DrewDog]

Creighton, Drake, and our team has to travel a long way to St Louis for the tourney.

The mileage to downtown KC and downtown St. Louis are fairly close to each other from Cedar Falls. St. Louis is about 15 mile further and with the Avenue of the Saints done the drive times are about the same.

[Panthers to the Bone]

From a UNI perspective, I think we have many more alumni in the KC area. Plus, Des Moines is way closer to KC than to STL. I think UNI attendance would increase. But, I really like STL as the spot. The MVC has really made a great home in St. Louis. The hotels, businesses, and corporate sponsors have really rallied around it. Competition does improve rates and support, and I would like to see KC get a shot at it one of these days to see what they could do. I really think UNI would have double the fans.

[joecooll6]

The STL is fun, and I cant imagine the tourney elsewhere.

But, I wouldnt be totally against KC. Mix it up a bit so more teams have a chance for shorter travel.

[panther2317]

I lOVE St. Louis and I wouldn't argue one bit if they left it there permanently, but I also wouldn't have an issue if it was in KC. jegbomb is right...St. Louis is a lot more convenient for all of the amenities, but KC wouldn't be all that bad as the Big 12 fans will tell you that it's a blast during their tournament.

News, I think the amenities in the town do matter in having a successful tournament and how many fans will come. That's how I get my wife to go...shopping, unique restaurants, sight seeing opportunities and a chance to get together with friends of ours that live in St. Louis. So I do think those other things do matter to some folks.

[Panthers to the Bone]

http://www.kansas.com/250/story/117056.html

Kansas City continues to put the full court press on the MVC Tourney moving there. The new arena only seats 18,500 people, which is 4,000 fewer seats than the ScottTrade Center...which would mean an increase in ticket prices.

One one hand, I'm a traditionalist. I love STL, and the fact that it's been there for around 20 years is impressive, and something that I hope continues. On the other hand, I think if KC makes a better offer, you have to look at rotating the event. Plus, UNI has WAY more alums in the Kansas City area, than in the St. Louis area. It could help continue the revitalization process of connecting UNI alums back to the university...in a metropolitan alumni base.

I think if the tourney moved, you would see alot fewer SIU fans coming to STL for the day trip, and thus buying all-session passes. Wichita State and Creighton fans would/could buy up all-session passes like they were candy (probably 5,000 all-session passes per school). If that is the case...that leaves about 8,000 all-session passes for the MVC to dole out. That's 1,000 all-session passes per school. You would probably be looking at a sell out of all 5 sessions. I would think that walk-up tickets would be difficult/impossible to get, but scalpers would probably be in full force. I think the move to a rotation of every other year being in KC/STL would improve the tv deal, and instead of generating interest in STL, the MVC would be generating interest in two of the major tv markets in the middle to upper midwest.

[Newsbreaker]

What would happen would be that each of the 10 schools would be given 1/10th of the all-season passes during a set window of time. Whatever was unsold would be returned to the league, and would be open to fans from any school to purchase.

I still believe a rotating tournament is the best choice.

[Panthers to the Bone]

News-

True. I should have stated that clearer. IMO, Indiana State and Evansville will probably not buy anywhere close to 1,000, and thus the rest are sent to the MVC office where Wichita/Creighton buy up what remains. If each team gets 1,800 to sell, I think you will see alot of tickets going back to the MVC office from E'ville, InSU.

[joecooll6]

You think Drake would sell theirs?

[kcpanther99]

Number of Alumni

I take issue with the statement that there is way more alumni in KC than in St. Louis. I just checked the UNI Alumni association online directory for St. Louis County (StL) and Jackson County (KC). There are 324 alumni members in St. Louis County compared to 343 in Jackson County. Granted, these are only the counties in which the cities are located, but I don't believe you can make the assumption that there are WAY more alumns in KC. The St. Louis area can compete with Kansas City in every way.

http://www.kansas.com/250/story/117056.html

Kansas City continues to put the full court press on the MVC Tourney moving there. The new arena only seats 18,500 people, which is 4,000 fewer seats than the ScottTrade Center...which would mean an increase in ticket prices.

One one hand, I'm a traditionalist. I love STL, and the fact that it's been there for around 20 years is impressive, and something that I hope continues. On the other hand, I think if KC makes a better offer, you have to look at rotating the event. Plus, UNI has WAY more alums in the Kansas City area, than in the St. Louis area. It could help continue the revitalization process of connecting UNI alums back to the university...in a metropolitan alumni base.

I think if the tourney moved, you would see alot fewer SIU fans coming to STL for the day trip, and thus buying all-session passes. Wichita State and Creighton fans would/could buy up all-session passes like they were candy (probably 5,000 all-session passes per school). If that is the case...that leaves about 8,000 all-session passes for the MVC to dole out. That's 1,000 all-session passes per school. You would probably be looking at a sell out of all 5 sessions. I would think that walk-up tickets would be difficult/impossible to get, but scalpers would probably be in full force. I think the move to a rotation of every other year being in KC/STL would improve the tv deal, and instead of generating interest in STL, the MVC would be generating interest in two of the major tv markets in the middle to upper midwest.