The NCAA men's basketball Final Four at Reliant Stadium "established a new standard for the event's highest total attendance," with 145,747 fans attending the three games, according to Jeffrey Martin of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. NCAA Senior VP/Basketball & Business Strategies Greg Shaheen said, "This is what a showcase, what a national championship should feel like. It was exactly what we hoped it would be." Houston Final Four Local Organizing Committee VP/Game, Facility & LOC Management Doug Hall added that "more than 80,000 out-of-towners were around over the weekend and transportation was not a problem." Hall: "I think it came off about how we thought it would. There are a lot of things you can't control, but I think we're happy." New Orleans will host next year's Final Four, and New Orleans Local Organizing Committee Chair John Koerner said of Houston, "You're the standard" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4/6).
DOMES AFFECTING LEVEL OF PLAY? In N.Y., Dick Weiss writes, "As great a sports spectacle as the NCAA Tournament has become, it's not meant to be the Super Bowl." The "warehouse atmosphere" at Reliant Stadium "forced players to perform in ways that challenged them throughout" the Final Four. Weiss: "The arena was the opponent nobody talked about and gave new meaning to the art of survival. ... We understand the NCAA is running a business here. The last time the Final Four was held in a traditional basketball arena was at the Meadowlands in 1996 and, judging by the way the NCAA jettisoned San Antonio -- one of the best host cities ever -- from the rotation because the Alamodome could accommodate only 45,000, it's easy to see where this is headed." The next five Final Fours "will all be played in 70,000-seat plus NFL football arenas," and Weiss writes, "The question must be asked: Does playing in cavernous venues for the sake of selling more tickets have unintended consequences if the level of play between the teams involved slips so dramatically?" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/6).
