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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 28, 2022 21:16:34 GMT -5
Would like Kit to put on a full court press to get NCAA D-1 MBB back for the first time since 2005. Between his other activities. Unfortunately Worcester just doesn't have the number of large hotels. Two of the hockey teams stayed in Marlboro....that is with ONLY four teams being in the Regional. |
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Post by trimster on Mar 29, 2022 5:41:57 GMT -5
I remember reading something, I believe on Crossports, that the NCAA now requires a full-service hotel per each team in the event. Seems like overreach to me but this is the same organization that ships in the playing surface for each site in the hoop tourney. Not sure about the backboards and rims but the nets seem to be standard across the tourney sites. I suppose when you are making a gazillion dollars off March Madness, you can do stuff like that. It makes it hard for a city like Worcester to host an 8 team field in the hoop event.
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 29, 2022 8:16:49 GMT -5
We also read on Crossports that the NCAA requires lights at an FCS playoff venue. Perhaps they have a list of fifteen requirements and if a bidding location meets thirteen, they get the bid over another one that meets twelve.
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Post by gks on Mar 29, 2022 8:22:56 GMT -5
I remember reading something, I believe on Crossports, that the NCAA now requires a full-service hotel per each team in the event. Seems like overreach to me but this is the same organization that ships in the playing surface for each site in the hoop tourney. Not sure about the backboards and rims but the nets seem to be standard across the tourney sites. I suppose when you are making a gazillion dollars off March Madness, you can do stuff like that. It makes it hard for a city like Worcester to host an 8 team field in the hoop event. I believe in past bids Worcester was allowed to use hotels in Westborough, Marlborough and Auburn. Auburn large hotel is gone as is the Worcester Crowne Plaza (now the Pharmacy School). There's two from prior bids that are now gone. Minnesota hockey stayed at the AC hotel in Worcester. |
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Post by rf1 on Mar 29, 2022 9:50:05 GMT -5
The lack of hotel rooms used to be an issue in Providence when trying to attract big conventions and sporting events. That is no longer the case as 11 new hotels have opened since 2000 increasing the number of hotel rooms to over 3,000 in the downtown area. Marriott on its own now has five Providence properties - Marriott, Courtyard Marriott, Renaissance Marriott, Marriott Residence Inn, and Aloft. Providence Hotels 2021 | # Rooms | Opened Omni | 564 | 1994 Marriott | 351 : 1975 The Graduate Biltmore Hotel | 294 | 1912 Hilton | 274 | 1969 Renaissance Marriott | 272 | 2007 Courtyard Marriott | 219 | 2000 Hilton Garden Inn | 137 | 1989 Woodspring Suites | 123 | 2018 Hampton Inn | 110 | 2009 Hotel Providence | 80 | 2005 The Dean Hotel | 52 | 2014 Hotel Dolce Vita | 24 | 2005 Marriott Residence Inn | 176 | 2019 Hilton Homewood Suites | 120 | 2019 Beatrice Hotel | 48 | 2021 Aloft Hotel | 175 | 2021 Present Total Rooms | 3,019
Another factor that has helped Providence in recent years has been the upgrades to TF Green Airport which is located just 10 miles from downtown. A new terminal was built in the late 1990's with other improvements made over the years. The airport now even has its own MBTA Commuter Rail stop with service to Providence (which also has full Amtrak service) and beyond to Boston. Some 4M passengers per year have used the airport in recent years with it once having reached a peak of 5.7M in 2005. The airport, served by most major carriers, has also just announced new direct flights to Los Angeles. In addition, there are many hotels in and around the airport in Warwick.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 29, 2022 10:38:42 GMT -5
We also read on Crossports that the NCAA requires lights at an FCS playoff venue. Perhaps they have a list of fifteen requirements and if a bidding location meets thirteen, they get the bid over another one that meets twelve. Every city wants to host March Madness so they can dictate the rules. FCS home playoff venues for that year are VERY few. |
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 29, 2022 11:16:12 GMT -5
We also read on Crossports that the NCAA requires lights at an FCS playoff venue. Perhaps they have a list of fifteen requirements and if a bidding location meets thirteen, they get the bid over another one that meets twelve. Every city wants to host March Madness so they can dictate the rules. FCS home playoff venues for that year are VERY few. Can venues compete by raising their bid or is that fixed and the other amenities are the variables? |
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 29, 2022 19:21:41 GMT -5
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 29, 2022 20:47:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the homework assignment.
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Post by bfoley82 on Mar 29, 2022 22:24:36 GMT -5
Thanks for the homework assignment. I couldn't just post the PDF on here! |
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Post by Tom on Mar 30, 2022 9:50:57 GMT -5
Not sure if it’s true, I heard ticket prices were really jacked up from previous years keeping fans away that had no rooting interest. Sunday, the tickets were $38, but there was a $37 handling charge bringing the total to $75. That was NOT using the legalized scalpers of ticket agencies |
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Post by Tom on Mar 30, 2022 9:53:39 GMT -5
I remember reading something, I believe on Crossports, that the NCAA now requires a full-service hotel per each team in the event. Seems like overreach to me but this is the same organization that ships in the playing surface for each site in the hoop tourney. Not sure about the backboards and rims but the nets seem to be standard across the tourney sites. I suppose when you are making a gazillion dollars off March Madness, you can do stuff like that. It makes it hard for a city like Worcester to host an 8 team field in the hoop event. I believe in past bids Worcester was allowed to use hotels in Westborough, Marlborough and Auburn. Auburn large hotel is gone as is the Worcester Crowne Plaza (now the Pharmacy School). There's two from prior bids that are now gone. Minnesota hockey stayed at the AC hotel in Worcester. Lose a few gain a few. I think there are also some newer hotels that were not around in 2005. I knew they used Auburn and Marlborough in 2005. I don't think they used Westborough. I'm pretty sure hotels is not a limiting factor right now |
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Post by rf1 on Mar 30, 2022 11:23:00 GMT -5
I can recall many years ago being out at Westboro restaurant when the NCAA Men's basketball tournament was in Worcester. The Iowa State pep band was staying out in Westboro and were having dinner at the same restaurant. It looks like it would have been back in 1992 based on when the Cyclones last payed in Worcester. I however think the NCAA wants lodging very close to the venue these days. There are many arenas in cities which can easily provide this. With the competition fierce to land the men's basketball tournament, the NCAA can be very selective. On a side note, I read that Buffalo had issues selling tickets to its 19,000 seat KeyBank center for the men's basketball NCAA. The opening day first round sessions had thousands of tickets available just days before. I know a group of five that decided to go at the last minute to the second round Buffalo games and had no issue getting tickets together. This has not happened in this northeast for a very long time as the event is usually sold out months in advance. I can recall some 15 years ago annually entering a lottery with friends and coworkers almost a year before the event to get tickets. We had about a 50% success rate and had to front the money well in advance. I do not know if the tournaments popularity in the region is falling or whether Buffalo was hurt by Covid concerns. Buffalo's NCAA Tournament Games Fall Short Of Selling Out subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/business/local/buffalos-ncaa-tournament-games-fall-short-of-selling-out/article_1cb5fbc0-a489-11ec-8a5a-fffe3129f173.html |
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 30, 2022 11:31:30 GMT -5
I can recall many years ago being out at Westboro restaurant when the NCAA Men's basketball tournament was in Worcester. The Iowa State pep band was staying out in Westboro and were having dinner at the same restaurant. It looks like it would have been back in 1992 based on when the Cyclones last payed in Worcester. I however think the NCAA wants lodging very close to the venue these days. There are many arenas in cities which can easily provide this. With the competition fierce to land the men's basketball tournament, the NCAA can be very selective. On a side note, I read that Buffalo had issues selling tickets to its 19,000 seat KeyBank center for the men's basketball NCAA. The opening day first round sessions had thousands of tickets available just days before. I know a group of five that decided to go at the last minute to the second round Buffalo games and had no issue getting tickets together. This has not happened in this northeast for a very long time as the event is usually sold out months in advance. I can recall some 15 years ago annually entering a lottery with friends and coworkers almost a year before the event to get tickets. We had about a 50% success rate and had to front the money well in advance. I do not know if the tournaments popularity in the region is falling or whether Buffalo was hurt by Covid concerns. Buffalo's NCAA Tournament Games Fall Short Of Selling Out subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/business/local/buffalos-ncaa-tournament-games-fall-short-of-selling-out/article_1cb5fbc0-a489-11ec-8a5a-fffe3129f173.html If somebody wants to start a "pick 'em" poll as to which restaurant it was, I'll go with Bertuccis.🙂. The band must have been enjoying their trip. No pressure on them, all fun. |
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Post by Tom on Mar 30, 2022 11:46:36 GMT -5
On a side note, I read that Buffalo had issues selling tickets to its 19,000 seat KeyBank center for the men's basketball NCAA. The opening day first round sessions had thousands of tickets available just days before. I know a group of five that decided to go at the last minute to the second round Buffalo games and had no issue getting tickets together. This has not happened in this northeast for a very long time as the event is usually sold out months in advance. I can recall some 15 years ago annually entering a lottery with friends and coworkers almost a year before the event to get tickets. We had about a 50% success rate and had to front the money well in advance. I do not know if the tournaments popularity in the region is falling or whether Buffalo was hurt by Covid concerns. Buffalo's NCAA Tournament Games Fall Short Of Selling Out subscribe.buffalonews.com/e/limit-reached-bn?returnURL=https://buffalonews.com/business/local/buffalos-ncaa-tournament-games-fall-short-of-selling-out/article_1cb5fbc0-a489-11ec-8a5a-fffe3129f173.html 1) Tickets are getting very expensive. Not that long ago it was something like $50-75 per session. Now it's double that. Not sure if that is actual price or the venues adding on a one hundred percent surcharge like the Centrum did for the hockey 2) There are sell outs and then there are sell outs. The legalized scalpers (aka after market retailers) but up gobs of tickets. The last time the tournament was in Providence, it was officially sold out before tickets went on sale. Then one minute after the official ticketmaster start and announcement of sell out, the legalized scalpers had tons of tickets at a mere 3X face value. Unlike the old fashioned scalpers who would discount rather than get stuck with them, the legalized guys would rather eat a decent percentage than drop their prices. A venue could be 3/4 full and still sold out |
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Post by longsuffering on Mar 30, 2022 11:54:43 GMT -5
After Syracuse got knocked out of the 2005 Regionals by Vermont, Many long faced Orange fans were selling their tickets to the second round to euphoric Catamount fans so they could bring their friends down for UVM's game with Michigan State in the second round.
How do you do that now with mostly electronic ticketing?
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Post by rf1 on Mar 30, 2022 12:01:24 GMT -5
If somebody wants to start a "pick 'em" poll as to which restaurant it was, I'll go with Bertuccis.🙂. The band must have been enjoying their trip. No pressure on them, all fun.
I think it was the Picadilly Pub. Not certain if it was the old basement location in the town center or the later location on Rte 9 by Research Dr. The larger route 9 location by the hotels would seem to make more sense but I am not certain that was open in 1992. I just remember talking to the group next to mine and they indicated that were there for the NCAA as part of the Iowa State pep band.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Apr 3, 2022 17:45:39 GMT -5
After Syracuse got knocked out of the 2005 Regionals by Vermont, Many long faced Orange fans were selling their tickets to the second round to euphoric Catamount fans so they could bring their friends down for UVM's game with Michigan State in the second round. How do you do that now with mostly electronic ticketing? Obtain the person's email and transfer them the ticket electronically in exchange for cash or Venmo. Mobile-only electronic ticketing sucks. Gone are the days when you have a nice memento to stick in a binder forever. I saved all my stubs (and print-outs) until 2020 when these organizations started to use COVID as their excuse to do away with printable tickets. Has nothing to do with being "contactless", it's all about data-mining and tracking exactly who enters and exits the arena -- and then being able to add people to email lists. Also helps enforce bans to some extent, even though those still can't be fully enforced without facial recognition. It's now a song and a dance to deal with getting into a game that you paid for if you have any issues with your phone (dead battery, bad internet, apps freezing, etc.). Part of the reason I dumped my season ticket plans to the local NY teams is because they took away the option to purchase the season ticket book, among other reasons like....starting a family and not wanting to be out until midnight multiple nights a week, and miss my daughter's bedtime. |
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 3, 2022 18:08:43 GMT -5
After Syracuse got knocked out of the 2005 Regionals by Vermont, Many long faced Orange fans were selling their tickets to the second round to euphoric Catamount fans so they could bring their friends down for UVM's game with Michigan State in the second round. How do you do that now with mostly electronic ticketing? Obtain the person's email and transfer them the ticket electronically in exchange for cash or Venmo. Mobile-only electronic ticketing sucks. Gone are the days when you have a nice memento to stick in a binder forever. I saved all my stubs (and print-outs) until 2020 when these organizations started to use COVID as their excuse to do away with printable tickets. Has nothing to do with being "contactless", it's all about data-mining and tracking exactly who enters and exits the arena -- and then being able to add people to email lists. Also helps enforce bans to some extent, even though those still can't be fully enforced without facial recognition. It's now a song and a dance to deal with getting into a game that you paid for if you have any issues with your phone (dead battery, bad internet, apps freezing, etc.). Part of the reason I dumped my season ticket plans to the local NY teams is because they took away the option to purchase the season ticket book, among other reasons like....starting a family and not wanting to be out until midnight multiple nights a week, and miss my daughter's bedtime. You canceled season tickets because they don't give you hard tickets anymore....Seems like a weak excuse. |
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 3, 2022 19:13:21 GMT -5
Obtain the person's email and transfer them the ticket electronically in exchange for cash or Venmo. Mobile-only electronic ticketing sucks. Gone are the days when you have a nice memento to stick in a binder forever. I saved all my stubs (and print-outs) until 2020 when these organizations started to use COVID as their excuse to do away with printable tickets. Has nothing to do with being "contactless", it's all about data-mining and tracking exactly who enters and exits the arena -- and then being able to add people to email lists. Also helps enforce bans to some extent, even though those still can't be fully enforced without facial recognition. It's now a song and a dance to deal with getting into a game that you paid for if you have any issues with your phone (dead battery, bad internet, apps freezing, etc.). Part of the reason I dumped my season ticket plans to the local NY teams is because they took away the option to purchase the season ticket book, among other reasons like....starting a family and not wanting to be out until midnight multiple nights a week, and miss my daughter's bedtime. You canceled season tickets because they don't give you hard tickets anymore....Seems like a weak excuse. The family values are a good reason. |
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 3, 2022 19:14:54 GMT -5
You canceled season tickets because they don't give you hard tickets anymore....Seems like a weak excuse. The family values are a good reason. Of course, but he listed a season ticket book as a reason. |
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Post by bringbackcaro on Apr 3, 2022 20:06:19 GMT -5
I remember reading something, I believe on Crossports, that the NCAA now requires a full-service hotel per each team in the event. Seems like overreach to me but this is the same organization that ships in the playing surface for each site in the hoop tourney. Not sure about the backboards and rims but the nets seem to be standard across the tourney sites. I suppose when you are making a gazillion dollars off March Madness, you can do stuff like that. It makes it hard for a city like Worcester to host an 8 team field in the hoop event. I'm not sure why they won't let 2+ teams stay at the same hotel, but full-service has always been a requirement due to the need for team meals. |
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 3, 2022 21:07:00 GMT -5
I remember reading something, I believe on Crossports, that the NCAA now requires a full-service hotel per each team in the event. Seems like overreach to me but this is the same organization that ships in the playing surface for each site in the hoop tourney. Not sure about the backboards and rims but the nets seem to be standard across the tourney sites. I suppose when you are making a gazillion dollars off March Madness, you can do stuff like that. It makes it hard for a city like Worcester to host an 8 team field in the hoop event. I'm not sure why they won't let 2+ teams stay at the same hotel, but full-service has always been a requirement due to the need for team meals. It might get testy in the lobby - not between the players or staff - but between the rabid fans from both schools hanging out in school colors hoping to get a peek at their team. |
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Post by beachbound on Apr 8, 2022 11:25:11 GMT -5
Almost 18,000 last night to watch 4 western schools in the frozen four at TD Garden. I was surprised by the crowd, even in the 2nd game when a lot of the Michigan fans left.
They probably should let the #1 seed host the regional to boost attendance in the earlier rounds.
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Post by bfoley82 on Apr 8, 2022 20:30:50 GMT -5
Almost 18,000 last night to watch 4 western schools in the frozen four at TD Garden. I was surprised by the crowd, even in the 2nd game when a lot of the Michigan fans left. They probably should let the #1 seed host the regional to boost attendance in the earlier rounds. The Frozen Four has about 16k people that go every year as a tradition. |
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