2018 NC NOT in KC??

[TUNA]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

I'm just talking about this year. I'm sure they'll get plenty of bids for future years. But for this year only, my post was referring to who might be some options.

Usually Pittsburg is in the mix. The NCAA should finally throw them a bone and let them do it. Needs to be at a place that cares about it.

[CHIP72]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

I personally think having the game played in a new, MLS stadium with roughly 20,000 capacity was a positive thing; it provided modern amenities and was located in a major market that was reasonably accessible. In Kansas City's case it was also located relatively close to various D2 schools. I'd like to see future games played in similar venues, though preferably in a warmer weather site.

Here's a list of the MLS, soccer-specific venues (markets) that are fairly new and located in the eastern half of the U.S. (there are few D2 teams on the West Coast):

*Washington, DC (2018)
*Orlando (2017)
*Houston (2012)
*New York (Harrison, NJ) (2010)
*Philadelphia (Chester, PA) (2010)
*Chicago (Bridgeview, IL) (2006)
*Dallas (Frisco) (2005)
*Columbus (1999)

Among the stadiums listed above, Orlando is out because the Cure Bowl is played on the same day at a nearby stadium at a partially overlapping time. (If the time didn't overlap, I think holding the game in Orlando and essentially creating a football doubleheader would be an interesting experiment.) Most of the others are located in cold weather sites. The best options IMO are Houston and Dallas (the latter of which already hosts the Division I-AA championship game; this year it also hosts the Frisco Bowl four days after the D2 title game); Houston in particular would be a good site IMO. If weather is not a consideration, any of the other sites (New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Chicago, Columbus) would be good sites, with the first four having good airline access and Columbus being a medium-sized market (like Kansas City) where the game might be a bigger deal.

[CHIP72]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

If the GSC wants to host, I think the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery would be a good choice.

Braly and Florence won't bid again unless UNA has a bad go of it in D1 and drops down

The Cramton Bowl in Montgomery wouldn't be an option this year because the Camellia Bowl is being played there the same day the D2 championship game is played.

[BearcatDude]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

I was on reddit's college football board and saw the news. Too funny after hearing all the MIAA chest thumpers about how great Sporting KC is and will be to D2.

Speaking of FCS, UNA might have the same fate as the KC championship experiment but we will have to wait and see on that.

[Redwing]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

I imagine that unless there is an adjacent team playing attendance will continue to creep down. Nobody local is going for the hell of it. Those days are gone. Too many options to watch something without leaving your indentation on the couch. Cost of travel is the big prohibition. Unless your kid is playing in the game or you're directly affected by the outcome its a hard sell.

You are mostly correct. However, I think with aggressive local promotion, it's possible to bump that number up if it's in a relatively large population center. Typically there are enough sports fan that like to go to about any national championship. But, it does need some promotion... and not just a week or two before. It'll be a hard sell that might not get the return though.

[4_tattoos]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

For the record, Red Bull has a hard line stance on not allowing football to be played at the soccer stadium in Harrison NJ. It's a no go. Other MLS clubs appear to be open to football being played at their stadiums though. On this short notice though, you might want to cross out any MLS club that's currently in their playoff picture.

[TUNA]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

unfitting for a championship game

You find Braly unfitting. Sporting KC views your entire division unfitting.

The foots on the other shoe eh :laugh:

[TUNA]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

The Cramton Bowl in Montgomery wouldn't be an option this year because the Camellia Bowl is being played there the same day the D2 championship game is played.

There goes that idea. I think letting the top seed host and penalizing teams who refuse to play OOC should be the way going forward unless PSU throws another bid. In that case, let those gorillas finally get their shot at hosting. They have been trying for 20 years now

[Fightingscot82]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

You are mostly correct. However, I think with aggressive local promotion, it's possible to bump that number up if it's in a relatively large population center. Typically there are enough sports fan that like to go to about any national championship. But, it does need some promotion... and not just a week or two before. It'll be a hard sell that might not get the return though.

I live a half hour from the site of the Pony League World Series. It took living here for 30 years before knowing it was played there. Even having played Pony League. Even so I really have no interest in going. There are about 2.5 million in this metro area. The stands were largely empty except for what I assume were families of the players. I love baseball but it's not going to get me off my couch.

[chrisattsu]

The Star (cowboys practice facility) in Frisco should be considered.

Indoor facility that holds 12k, plenty of hotels and food nearby. Centrally located, near major us airport

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[cwfenn]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

(If the time didn't overlap, I think holding the game in Orlando and essentially creating a football doubleheader would be an interesting experiment.)

I think Orlando could be a good spot, lots of places to stay and go and in GSC territory too. But I doubt they would do it this year with that bowl game already scheduled. It's too bad there weren't many D2 teams out West since the Stubhub Center hosts the Chargers (don't know if they would balk at having more football there though).

Would likely go if the game was in Hershey, PA (about 30 minutes from where I live) as one poster mentioned, but it's an old facility that could use some updating. I think the NCAA can do better with a newer facility, maybe even pairing it up with another title game or a bowl game. How about having the D3/D2/D1 FCS games at the same site on different days? I think the NCAA did something like that for basketball one year (was it in Atlanta?)

[boatcapt]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

We were preached to about how the KC/MIAA sports fans were football sophisticates and would turn out in huge numbers to watch the championship because they knew good football. Several knowledgeable posters said that moving the game to KC would insure 10K+ crowds every year even if there was no local team in the game. The KC advocates beat the drum unmercifully that KC was THE answer and NO other place could compare. It was the perfect mix of world class stadium, incredible amounts of "tourist" events and diversions away from football, rabid knowledgeable local football fans that would attend in droves, a virtually unlimited number of hotel rooms and all coupled with almost instant access via plane, train and automobile from every point in the US. In short, it was DII Championship nirvana and once the game was moved from the hinterlands of gapped tooth Alabama, the rest of DII nation would understand and bow to the superior wisdom and knowledge of the KC mafia.

Well, we are four years into the "KC as the center of the DII football universe" and being kind, let's just say the reviews are a little mixed...AND we are looking for another venue.

[JR Chaney]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

We were preached to about how the KC/MIAA sports fans were football sophisticates and would turn out in huge numbers to watch the championship because they knew good football. Several knowledgeable posters said that moving the game to KC would insure 10K+ crowds every year even if there was no local team in the game. The KC advocates beat the drum unmercifully that KC was THE answer and NO other place could compare. It was the perfect mix of world class stadium, incredible amounts of "tourist" events and diversions away from football, rabid knowledgeable local football fans that would attend in droves, a virtually unlimited number of hotel rooms and all coupled with almost instant access via plane, train and automobile from every point in the US. In short, it was DII Championship nirvana and once the game was moved from the hinterlands of gapped tooth Alabama, the rest of DII nation would understand and bow to the superior wisdom and knowledge of the KC mafia.

Well, we are four years into the "KC as the center of the DII football universe" and being kind, let's just say the reviews are a little mixed...AND we are looking for another venue.

Reviews are mixed but from someone who's been to both, KC does offer a lot more things to do for the weekend. Add in drive from the airport is greatly less than it was in Alabama. The attendance thing I never understood it's always going to matter who's playing. The stadium was world class, sadly the management for said stadium is apparently world class ******** as well.

There isn't going to be a perfect location. I liked Alabama, I think KC was a step up. I didn't think it was perfect. I don't mind the whole weather thing, I like games played in crappy weather from time to time. That being said if I'm picking the perfect place for a D2 game I'm going with Galveston or Corpus Christi in Texas.

[whodat]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

Reviews are mixed but from someone who's been to both, KC does offer a lot more things to do for the weekend. Add in drive from the airport is greatly less than it was in Alabama. The attendance thing I never understood it's always going to matter who's playing. The stadium was world class, sadly the management for said stadium is apparently world class ******** as well.

There isn't going to be a perfect location. I liked Alabama, I think KC was a step up. I didn't think it was perfect. I don't mind the whole weather thing, I like games played in crappy weather from time to time. That being said if I'm picking the perfect place for a D2 game I'm going with Galveston or Corpus Christi in Texas.

I don't get the bashing. My experience with the MIAA is they ARE passionate about football and the chance of bigger crowds was more likely. So, the only folks to be mad at is Sporting KC. They suck, and have created a ridiculous situation.

[UNA_Texan]

Re: 2018 NC NOT in KC??

Reviews are mixed but from someone who's been to both, KC does offer a lot more things to do for the weekend. Add in drive from the airport is greatly less than it was in Alabama. The attendance thing I never understood it's always going to matter who's playing. The stadium was world class, sadly the management for said stadium is apparently world class ******** as well.

There isn't going to be a perfect location. I liked Alabama, I think KC was a step up. I didn't think it was perfect. I don't mind the whole weather thing, I like games played in crappy weather from time to time. That being said if I'm picking the perfect place for a D2 game I'm going with Galveston or Corpus Christi in Texas.