It was announced Tuesday that TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha "will host the Big Ten’s baseball championship" from '19-22, according to Jon Nyatawa of the OMAHA WORLD-HERALD. The venue "was already set to hold" the eight-team tournament this year and again in '18. The '14 Big Ten tournament title matchup between Nebraska and Indiana "set an NCAA record for attendance at a conference championship game when 19,965 fans showed up for the weekend finale." The total five-day attendance of 62,020 "exceeded the league’s previous record for a full tournament" (12,219, set in '09). Ticket sales "are just ahead" of the '14 pace as this year’s Big Ten tournament approaches. Nebraska Associate AD/Facilities & Events Butch Hug said that "nearly 5,100 all-session passes -- priced at $50 -- had been sold as of Tuesday night." Nyatawa noted about 4,600 "were purchased by April" in '14. The Big Ten "still doesn’t have a home" for its '17 tournament. Metropolitan Entertainment & Convention Authority President & CEO Roger Dixon noted that the ballpark also is "planning to host the Big East baseball tournament" in '17, although "nothing has been announced just yet." The Big Ten "is considering on-campus sites" for '17. Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany said that Target Field "is not off the table." But the decision "is still months away" (OMAHA WORLD-HERALD, 4/13).
