A10 announces Men’s Basketball Championship sites for 2017, 2018
Pittsburgh and DC will each get their shot, and give Brooklyn a breather.
The Atlantic 10 has announced that its 2017 Men’s Basketball Championship will tip off at at the CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA and at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC in 2018.
This means the championship has a confirmed home through 2021: Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY through 2016, Pittsburgh in 2017, DC in 2018, and back to Brooklyn for 2019-2021.
Here’s the full release:
The Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Championship will take on a new look and vibe when it moves to CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 2017 and to Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., in 2018.
“We are very excited about the A10 tournament for the next several years,” University of Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. “To maintain our relationship with the Barclays Center while also adding two premier arenas in Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., further establishes our conference among the nation’s elite.”
The announcement, made today by the A-10, solidifies the championship sites through 2021. The championship will continue to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn through 2016, then will move to the steel city in 2017, and to the nation’s capital in 2018 before returning to Barclays Center for three additional years through 2021.
“The opportunity to rotate our championship within the A-10 footprint is exciting,” stated A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. “CONSOL Energy Center and Verizon Center are two state-of-the-art venues with great fan amenities and successful histories of hosting NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship events. Bringing the A-10 Championship and brand to Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. is another nod to the strength and value of the conference.”
Pittsburgh previously hosted the A-10 championship for five years, from 1978-1982. CONSOL Energy Center, which seats 19,100 for basketball, was opened in 2010 and hosts regular season men’s basketball, including the popular “City Game” between Duquesne and Pitt. The home of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, CONSOL Energy Center also hosted the 2012 NCAA Second and Third Rounds and will host those same rounds in March of 2015.
“We are thrilled that the Atlantic 10 Conference has selected Pittsburgh for its Men’s Basketball Championship in 2017,” said Tim Hassett, General Manager of CONSOL Energy Center and Regional Vice President for AEG Facilities. “The City of Pittsburgh has a rich history and tradition in college basketball and is the center of a region full of enthusiastic sports fans. We look forward to partnering with the Atlantic 10 and its member schools to put on a great show for all of those who will travel from near and far to see top-notch college basketball and enjoy all that our great city has to offer.”
The 2018 event will mark the first time Washington, D.C. will host the A-10 championship. The home arena for the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, Verizon Center opened in 1997 and hosts on average 220 events per year. Verizon Center also has hosted a number of regular-season men’s college basketball events and tournaments, including six NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship events, two of which were regional rounds.
Richmond participated in the first NCAA Tournament in the arena that is now the Verizon Center. In 1998, the Spiders defeated South Carolina, 62-61, in the first round of the Big Dance in what was then known as the MCI Center.
“We’re excited to be selected as the host for the Atlantic 10 Conference’s first trip to the nation’s capital,” said David Touhey, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Verizon Center. “Partnering with the Atlantic 10 and its member schools provides another great opportunity for college basketball to be featured in the heart of downtown Washington.”
Washington, D.C., is the eighth largest media market in the country and Pittsburgh, Pa., ranks 23rd nationally. Atlantic 10 institutions reside in states that comprise 33.3 million television viewers, 28.8 percent of the total national market. There are eight A-10 institutions in the top 25 media markets in the country. National television coverage for the 2017 and 2018 Championships will be distributed by ESPN, CBS Sports and NBCSN.
The Atlantic 10 is coming off its most successful men’s basketball season ever, with six teams having earned an NCAA Tournament bid. Each of those teams finished with 24 or more wins, making the A-10 the only league with six 24-win teams in 2013-14. Dayton advanced to the Elite Eight, the seventh straight year the conference has had a team reach the NCAA Regionals. The league also won 71 percent of its non-conference games which led to seven A-10 teams receiving votes or earning a ranking in the national polls, and nine teams finishing in the top 100 of the RPI.
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Nathan Cushing
Nathan Cushing is a writer, journalist, and RVANews Editor.
Notice: Comments that are not conducive to an interesting and thoughtful conversation may be removed at the editor’s discretion.
Why cant Richmond regularly host big tournaments and big name concernts? Its a rhetorical question we all know why.
Here are comparable cities that do get these events, and bigger ones, and do get a regular calendar full of big name concerts all drawing big tax revenue, recognition, and tourism:
ACC Sites:
2010 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro
2008 Time Warner Cable Arena Charlotte, NC
2007 St. Pete Times Forum Tampa, FL
2006 Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC
Forget the ACC, we want bigger! Recent 1st and 2nd Round NCAA Tournement Sites:
Bradley Center Milwaukee, WI
ARCO Arena Sacramento, CA
Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence, RI
HSBC Arena Buffalo, NY
Ford Center Oklahoma City, OK
awrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC
HP Pavilion San Jose, CA
Nationwide Arena Columbus, OH
HSBC Arena Buffalo, NY
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Jacksonville, FL
Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena Spokane, WA
Taco Bell Arena Boise, ID
Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI
Alltel Arena North Little Rock, AR
BJCC Arena Birmingham, AL
Honda Center Anaheim, CA
Qwest Center Omaha Omaha, NE
RBC Center Raleigh, NC
St. Pete Times Forum Tampa, FL
Concert and sporting event PROMOTERS interviewed about Richmond Coliseum had this to say ( the people that you really need the interest of to get big events in your town):
Richmond Coliseum Lacks Amenities of Newer Facilities and is a Challenging Venue for Events
-Loading Dock
-Rigging
-Backstage Areas/Star Areas
Promoters Would Prefer More Seats in the Lower Bowl as Compared to Current Configuration
Richmond Market Loses Events to John Paul Jones Arena Due to Size/Condition of the Richmond Coliseum…
BUT, Promoters Would Prefer Richmond Market Over Charlottesville
NCAA Representatives Indicated Minimum Capacity of 12,000 for Tournament Early Rounds
-Richmond Would Potentially be a Considered Market
ACC Representatives Indicated Capacity Between 18,000 to 20,000+ Would Likely be Required
-Richmond Would be an Attractive Market (Nine Universities within Driving Distance)
-ACC Focusing on Newer Arenas – Amenities/Seating Characteristics
Against comparable cities (21 ranked, usual suspects of Charlotte, Raleigh, Jacksonville, Louiville, Austin, Salt Lake, Indianapolis…) Richmond ranks
#5 in average household income
#3 in high income (100k+) per 2 seat current inventory (coliseum, seigle center, robins, city stadium, diamond,sports backers, etc..)
– Ratio of Population and High Income Households per Seat Above Average
– Ratio of Population and High Income Households per Suite / Club Seat Above Average
– Ratio of Large Companies to Number of Suites / Club Seats Above Average
These stats say that if the quality events were here, Richmonders have the income and corporate reasources needed to fill seats.
OK go ahead anti-growth folks and start ranting about tax usage, schools, and 6th street marketplace:
@Mike I’d take a new coliseum over a new baseball diamond in a quick second.
I wonder how Richmond’s admission tax figures into it. I know it discourages a lot of bigger music acts from coming to Richmond.
But yeah, I will rant about schools and tax usage. Look at how much the taxpayers are still paying for Center Stage, even with the higher meals tax. I know a lot of people are looking at a new coliseum as a way to keep the corporate welfare train going. My goal is not to block progress, its to block more corporate welfare projects that take away money and attention from more worthwhile causes (like schools and better mass transit). You want a new coliseum? Figure out how to make it work to the benefit of ALL citizens. And don’t give me the song and dance about attracting tourism dollars (that never meet the promised ROI).
@scott (burger) Most people who use the term “corporate welfare” dont understand what it is they are talking about. You are the perfect example. I know this hurts, but dollar for dollar, you will get more city improvement by investing in corporations and well-executed tourism/cultural/revenue generating attractions then you will giving handouts to the city school administration. Corporations bring in and pay employees, sponsor big projects and events that we all love, donate/give back to the community, etc., etc. etc….however…people like you, scott burger, that keep you head in the sand will blindly categorize any incentive to a corporation as a “handout” (i.e. Get nothing in return).
Ill ask you this, scott burger….what would happen to richmond if Altria Meadwestvaco, Dominion, and Bon Secours all left town over the course of a few years….? Would that improve or hurt our City Schools, for example? Would that improve or hurt the local resteraunt scene? Music scene? Parks and recreation funding? The Arts?
Add to it that you and others that sling this “corporate welfare” misinformation put almost every dollar you spend into….wait for it….Corporations! Whether it be beer, food, a movie, a paintbrush, shoes, shirts, ipods, internet access…..you name it….so either your terminology is flawed (thats a yes) and/or you’re a hypocrit lacking knowledge of the subject ( that would also be a yes).
I rest my case.
test reply.
I have tried replying three times now. But it’s letting me post links or more text.
But I stand by my previous comments.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_welfare