The Big 12 Tournament began yesterday at Sprint Center, and conference Commissioner Bob Bowlsby "didn't need" a press conference to get the message that the city "aches to retain the event," according to Blair Kerkhoff of the K.C. STAR. Bowlsby said, "Everybody from the guy at the baggage claim, from the driver who brought us in, to the people at the hotel, to the fans we’ve run into on the street, are pitching hard for Kansas City." Bowlsby also "got the message from the welcoming party," starting with K.C. Mayor Sly James, K.C. Sports Commission President & CEO Kathy Nelson, Convention & Visitors Association President & CEO Ronnie Burt and Sprint Center Chair Brenda Tinnen. The welcoming affair "has become an annual event, but it took on more meaning this year." The right to hold the men's tournament "is up for bid, and other cities such as Dallas and Oklahoma City are in contention." A decision about the tournament’s future "could be made by June." It has "been a while" since K.C. "fought for the tournament." The last time the Big 12 "considered the future of the men’s basketball tourney" was in '12. Bowlsby said, "Take a look around the arena on Friday night and tell me Kansas City isn’t a Big 12 town. If we started to see attendance decline or enthusiasm decline those are things we’d certainly take into account." He added, “Every once in a while you go through a process. It’s not dissatisfaction, it’s just good business. We want to have an open and thorough process.” But Kerkhoff notes the sense was that "other cities would have to catch" K.C. (K.C. STAR, 3/12).
FLOOR PLANS: Kerkhoff notes the NCAA "has its tournament floors custom made, and now so does the Big 12." The conference tournament floor at Sprint Center, and the one used for the women’s tournament last week in Dallas, were "created several months" ago by Illinois-based Connor Sports. The NCAA "offers their tournament floors for sale after the event, and often the winning team makes the purchase for the floor to be used or cut up and sold as souvenirs." But the Big 12 floors "will go into storage at the arenas and be reused" (KANSASCITY.com, 3/11).
