Denver Deux?

[loborick]

With UNLV winning the tourney both years since it has returned to LV, Thompson is hearing the grumblings...

Briefs: Thompson says Denver to be considered
Tom Kensler
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 03/21/2008 0245 AM MDT


Pepsi Center NCAA Tournament director Craig Thompson, a.k.a. the commissioner of the host Mountain West Conference, watched the building fill up early Thursday morning.

"This is not a throwaway site," Thompson said of the MWC abandoning Denver in favor of returning the MWC Tournament back to Las Vegas. "I do not know why we wouldn't consider it again."

The league played the tournament in Denver from 2004-06 to take advantage of a neutral site after coaches complained UNLV had too much of an advantage on its home court. There was tepid fan response, especially the first year, when the NCAA Tournament followed into town.

Now, after UNLV won both years since returning to Las Vegas, there's more inevitable complaining, despite increased attendance.

Thompson expects the league presidents will revisit the issue before the Las Vegas contract runs out after 2010.

http://www.denverpost.com/colleges/ci_8644779

[Bullchuter]

The rumblings he's hearing are for his ouster!!!

[LoboSoldier]

The rumblings he's hearing are for his ouster!!!

I second that as well.

[Garishwolf]

GUUD RICK,,,,,,,,,,,WE NEED A NUTRAL/NUTERED COURT, even up the odds,,,fair y balenced. Denver is rockin city. TONS O FUN IN dENVER,,,,,,,,,,just ask John,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,lol,,,,,,,baaad joke.

[LoboMike]

I would be for it. Whatever it takes to get it out of the Thomas and Mack. Phoenix is still my first choice however. Great weather in March and cheap travel. Huge population base and tons of things to do.

[LoboBen]

I agree with you Mike. Phoenix is the most logical location. Great weather, inexpensive travel, facilities (Unvi. of Phoenix Stadium/US Airways Arena), spring training baseball and plenty of nightlife.

[Lobo_for_life]

Flagstaff, Arizona. The drive on I-40 in March will be memorable. Lot's of skiing close by. :Afun):Afun):Afun)

[SanJoMilkman]

I agree with you Mike. Phoenix is the most logical location. Great weather, inexpensive travel, facilities (Unvi. of Phoenix Stadium/US Airways Arena), spring training baseball and plenty of nightlife.

Hell, I live in Vegas and I want it moved for the benefit of UNM.

Phoenix is Pac 10 country...NO WAY!!! They do not care out there,. Denver however has AF and CSU down the street.
I wouldnt mind San Diego one bit!!!

[Canes-Lobos]

Phoenix is not cheap in March...Once you move into April & May travel rates begin to reduce. I'm curious how Denver would do now that SW flies into DIA. I don't get the whole nothing to do in Denver? How is it the Big12 has their tourney in KC and fans show-up? I forgot, the MWC is a mid-major and we need to have the MWC tourney in Vegas so that fans will show up.

[LostLobo]

How is it the Big12 has their tourney in KC and fans show-up?

I can answer this one since I have friends who live in Big 12 territory! A large percentage of the Big 12 fans live in small towns, and a trip to KC is a twice or three times a year event. For the small towns in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, etc., Kansas City is like New York, and a trip there for many of the people in rural towns is as big a deal to them as us going to Vegas.

[loborick]

I like Phoenix also. The weather is even better there in March than in Las Vegas. And there is tons to do. It may be more expensive in March than in April or May, but it is still cheaper than LV. Mills Avenue in Tempe has some great shops and restaurants. I wouldn't mind Denver either. But you never know about the weather there in March. I went to the tourney in LV in 2001 and flew United through Denver. Coming back from LV my flight was delayed and I got into Denver too late for my connecting flight to ABQ. I had my light Lobo jacket with me, which was more than enough in LV, but it was 15 degrees and snowing in Denver. I finally found a clerk who gave me a hotel voucher, and I called the hotel to send their shuttle. I stood out in the cold and snow waiting for the shuttle, and it drove right past me. I had to go back and call them to send it again.

I finally got to be at like 2 in the morning and had to be up early to catch the flight to ABQ. And, of course, that flight was also late. It took me almost 24 hours to get from LV to ABQ. I could have drive to LV and back in that time.

I don't know what that has to do with the price of tea in China, but I didn't get much sleep last night and I'm tired. I'm supposed to go play some golf today, but don't know if I will or stay home and watch BB.

[Bret]

Really I dont see why it cant rotate. Its the fairest thing to do, and it would then be considered a "Special Event" in the town it was played. Which in turn would normally mean a better turnout.

For visiting fans, they would get to visit a different city every year, and for the teams they would all have the advantage of home court every 6-8 years or so.

On the other hand........we are the only Conference with a team in Las Vegas, and it is a big draw. Always nice to use the resources you have and LV is definitely one of those

[EPluribusUNM]

I was surprised when we went to the Tournament in Denver that the major complaints were coming from Utah and BYU fans. Even though it's about as far for them as it is for folks from New Mexico (actually 80 miles shorter for Ute fans), they were whining about driving across either I-70 through the mountains or I-80 through Wyoming in the winter.

If the Utah bias in the conference does exist, don't count on Denver being a host city.

I'll never forget the delirious "convoy" of Lobo Fans coming back from the last Denver event. No whining in that bunch that filled the Pepsi Arena with Lobo red. Many of them drove up on short notice to see the championship games once it looked like this would be a magic event. You don't get that opportunity when it's in Las Vegas.

[UNM_ALUM]

I feel that ultimately, it is out of LV ASAP. The Rebels are going to continue to be major players and whether it is in the T&M, the MGM, the new arena or the Orleans, it is still in LV. No matter what the Rebel fans will out number everyone else and nausiate everyone with their obnoxious cheers. We need to make those guys travel....which they wont.

Thompson needs to earn his paycheck and think outside the box on this one. Is he really talking about Denver? What a tool! Try San Diego or Phoenix before going back to something that has already failed. There are just too many obstacles in Denver from the weather to the airport.

Amazing what a year can do to a viewpoint. With McKay I wanted a fun location since I assumed losing was in the cards and Las Vegas is always good fun. Now, with Alford its about the hoops and I want a neutral site more than ever. Especially considering how the MWC will always be a 2 team league with the occassional 3rd team.

[LaVidaLobo]

I'm starting to lean towards Reno myself.

[wallyhopp]

I would be for it. Whatever it takes to get it out of the Thomas and Mack. Phoenix is still my first choice however. Great weather in March and cheap travel. Huge population base and tons of things to do.

great idea.

what they need to do NOW is have some preseason tournaments or OOC games or tourneys out there or against ASUs or Un. of Arizonas and build a fanbase. start now while the MWC tourney is still at the T&M

[judas_priest]

There is no MWC fan base in Arizona. Reno is too far removed from the geographic center of the conference. (On strictly personal grounds I would love it - It would be possible for me to take a day and a half-trip there) In terms of geography, there are only two real choices. We need a large city (for the facilities and for "other things to do") reasonably near the "center" of the conference: That means Las Vegas or Denver. Las Vegas brings in more money. But it can't stay at the T&M - there must be another site. Denver could compete if they will pay a decent guarantee based on respectable attendance. (Personally, I'd rather spend time in Denver than LC but my wife and I have family there)

If the TV contract finally started paying off, then the money issue might seem less central and LV's draw would be less important. I'm not holding my breath, however.

[LasCrucesLobo]

If we are going to be at the home site of a conference team, what about ABQ. We have the casinos with nightly entertainment, skiing, golf, hiking, Santa Fe, Indian art and crafts, great places to eat, reasonable prices, good airport connections and less traffic. AND a 18,000 seat area.

We can trade off with Las Vegas.

So is we are going to demand a change then let support coming to New Mexico!

[dcrowley]

There is no MWC fan base in Arizona.

Who cares? That's what makes it neutral. Each school needs to have fans travel regardless. PHX is in driving distance for Vegas, SDSU, UNM, Utah, & BYU. AFA, CSU, Wyo, and TCU fans will have to hop on a SW flight. The only school which gets "inconvenienced" is UNLV which is the whole point.

[judas_priest]

Who cares? That's what makes it neutral. Each school needs to have fans travel regardless. PHX is in driving distance for Vegas, SDSU, UNM, Utah, & BYU. AFA, CSU, Wyo, and TCU fans will have to hop on a SW flight. The only school which gets "inconvenienced" is UNLV which is the whole point.

The point is that I think it will be quite hard to get attendance from the area - people who are there who are college basketball fans will tend to ignore the MWC in favor of the PAC10 - which lowers the revenues.

In terms of the logistics Denver is the best choice - the only issue is whether we can get the fans to go there. If the Mountain ever produces some real revenue then we can afford to have the tournament in Denver.

[VWolf]

Phoenix is Pac 10 country...NO WAY!!! They do not care out there,. Denver however has AF and CSU down the street.
I wouldnt mind San Diego one bit!!!

Unfortunatley AFA and CSU fans barely support their programs. We might get more fans overall in Phoenix, just because it is a more attractive March destination. I am all for Phoenix myself. Denver would be my second choice.

Either one would beat the heck out of the Thomas and Mack. UNLV would have lost the opener on a neutral court. Utah would have probably beaten TCU. Then maybe they upset their rival BYU? The MWC could have had 3 teams in the dance (or maybe UNLV wouldn't have made it in that scenario).

[UNM_ALUM]

The point is that I think it will be quite hard to get attendance from the area - people who are there who are college basketball fans will tend to ignore the MWC in favor of the PAC10 - which lowers the revenues.

Judas I believe Denver is CU country. They dont give a rats arse about the MWC/CSU. Finding a MWC boxscore in the paper is like looking through a Where's Waldo book. How many locals do you think went to those games when it was over there? The only way locals are going to even think about attending those games is if the conference can field multiple top 25 teams or if CU joins the MWC. Face it, that tourney is being attended by the fans of the schools.

Phoenix is easy to get to since it is a hub for SWA and US Air. More Rebel fans will travel since it is a 45 mintute flight or a 3 1/2 hour drive.

Oh yea....Denver = 67% chance of freezing with a historical average high of 53 degrees from March 12-16.

Phoenix = 0 percent chance of freezing with a historical average high of 77 degrees from March 12-16.

I love Denver and I would live there if there wasnt a season called Winter.

[loborick]

Judas I believe Denver is CU country. They dont give a rats arse about the MWC/CSU. Finding a MWC boxscore in the paper is like looking through a Where's Waldo book. How many locals do you think went to those games when it was over there? The only way locals are going to even think about attending those games is if the conference can field multiple top 25 teams or if CU joins the MWC. Face it, that tourney is being attended by the fans of the schools.

Phoenix is easy to get to since it is a hub for SWA and US Air. More Rebel fans will travel since it is a 45 mintute flight or a 3 1/2 hour drive.

Oh yea....Denver = 67% chance of freezing with a historical average high of 53 degrees from March 12-16.

Phoenix = 0 percent chance of freezing with a historical average high of 77 degrees from March 12-16.

I love Denver and I would live there if there wasnt a season called Winter.

I love Denver also...between May and September. Before or after that...not so much. I really like the idea of Phoenix. Will it happen? Probably not. If the tourney is moved again (hopefully), the conference needs to give it a few years to build. 2-3 years is not long enough. The conference tourney is not about giving fans the opportunity to take a vacation, it is about determining the automatic qualifier for the NCAA tourney. This should be done as fairly as possible. Holding the tourney in the city that any team is in is not fair.

[dcrowley]

Oh yea....Denver = 67% chance of freezing with a historical average high of 53 degrees from March 12-16.

Phoenix = 0 percent chance of freezing with a historical average high of 77 degrees from March 12-16.

I love Denver and I would live there if there wasnt a season called Winter.

A few years ago I was in Denver in July and it snowed. The weather in that place is crazy.