The UConn-Notre Dame NCAA women's basketball championship game last night "was officially a sellout, capping two days of impressive attendance at Amalie Arena for the national semifinal (19,730) and final (19,810)," according to Antonya English of the TAMPA BAY TIMES. Tampa Bay Sports Commission Exec Dir Rob Higgins said, "You look at the really storied programs, and the following that they have, certainly that's had an impact on the increase in visitors that has taken place. For us to have the largest attendance in the last five years is a credit to those programs as well as everybody else involved that rallies around this great event." He added that the TBSC "made a concerted effort to include more student-athletes in the event than just those participating in the Final Four, hoping to give area college athletes first-hand experience in hosting." He also said that feedback from participating schools and fans "has been outstanding." Higgins: "We feel like we raised the bar in a lot of areas, we really do. We're excited with how everything came off" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/8). Tampa-based Bay News 9's Jason Lanning reported hotels and restaurants in downtown Tampa "have been crowded all week," and the the Tourney Town activity zone set up outside Amalie Arena "had big crowds through the weekend." The women's Final Four is set to return to Tampa in '19 (BAYNEWS9.com, 4/7). Higgins: "We heard a lot of folks really enjoyed the overall atmosphere out there leading up to the game. It seemed like fans really enjoyed the setup of 'Tourney Town' being so close to the arena, as well as, naturally, the great weather we had throughout the day" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/6).
TAKING IT TO THE STRIP? In DC, Dan Steinberg noted women's college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli "presented her solutions" for generating interest in the sport "to several hundred coaches who gathered" in Tampa for the women's Final Four. She suggested the NCAA take the women's NCAA Tournament "not to sleepy arenas in Spokane and Albany, but to the least-sleepy spot in America: the Vegas strip." Antonelli has "been preaching some version of this plan for four or five years; initially, it drew snickers or even outright laughter." But people "aren’t laughing anymore, especially after she formed a coalition with Vegas movers," including promotional agency Las Vegas Events and former UNLV AD Jim Livengood. Their group "produced a slick 14-page document outlining a bold proposal: to shift the entire Sweet 16 and Elite Eight to the desert, creating a 'new basketball capital' for their sport, women’s basketball’s version of Omaha’s College World Series." The most immediate obstacle "seems severe: an NCAA bylaw preventing NCAA tournament games from being played in a state that allows wagering on their results." Livengood and Antonelli "pointed to the seven conference tournaments that are held in Vegas, to the investments so many pro sports leagues are making in daily fantasy sites FanDuel and Draft Kings." Antonelli "doesn't just think the gambling issue can be overcome; she thinks it actually could help her sport." Her group thinks the event "could one day grow to encompass the Final Four, creating a nine-day women’s basketball festival in the country’s entertainment mecca" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 4/7).
BETTER THAN THE BIG GAME? In Indianapolis, Jeff Swiatek in a front-page piece writes the fans who "poured into the city bedecked in their team's swag" for the men's Final Four over the weekend "spent so freely that some restaurants were busier than during the peak periods" of Super Bowl XLVI, which Indianapolis hosted in '12. Tow Yard Brewing Chief Beer Taster Jim Siegel said, "We were 30 percent above projections for the weekend. It would have been more if Kentucky won." Indianapolis-based Monarch Beverage Senior VP/Sales Scott Shipley said that the distributor "shipped 23,000 cases of beer and wine over the weekend." He added, "Almost all of the accounts we talked to said that their numbers were better than the Super Bowl." Visit Indy VP/Marketing & Communications Chris Gahl "figures more people showed up than the last time the city hosted a men's Final Four" in '10. Swiatek notes the city at that time "didn't have the 1,005-room JW Marriott and its three adjacent hotels, the NCAA's Fan Fest was smaller and musical events were fewer" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/8). Also in Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel writes the Final Four is "good in other cities," but it is "best in Indianapolis." Putting the Final Four "anywhere but the best possible city -- best for teams, coaches, fans, media -- seems like a charitable donation to other cities and a lost opportunity not just to our city, but to everyone involved." The NCAA generally "doesn't put this event in a bad spot," but Indianapolis is the "one great spot." Doyel: "There is precedent for the NCAA to put a championship in one city -- and a growing consensus that the best city for the Final Four is ours" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 4/8).
