The outlook for this weekend's NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four is "less brilliant" than the last time Baltimore hosted in '11, as attendance for the event has "declined each year" since a record-setting draw in '07, according to Childs Walker of the Baltimore SUN. Johns Hopkins lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala said, "Maybe our marquee event needs to be looked at to see if it's time for some changes." Walker notes among the possibilities is "a move away from NFL stadiums to smaller venues such as on-campus stadiums." NCAA officials also are "looking to offer more affordable tickets and weighing the benefits of moving the event off of its traditional place on Memorial Day weekend." NCAA Associate Dir for Championships & Alliances Anthony Holman said that a "panel reviewing the lacrosse championship could submit recommendations for a future direction by this winter." He added, "I'm not burying my head in the sand. We want to get more folks here. … But you can't look at the attendance alone and say it means the championship and the sport haven't been successful." U.S. Lacrosse President & CEO Steve Stenersen said of the declining crowds, "I don't think it's any one thing. But I'm not sure we're going to see the attendance approach what it was in the mid-2000s any time soon." Ravens President Dick Cass said that he would "like to see the event return to M&T Bank Stadium and would be open to discussing the possibilities" for '17 or '18. Cass: "We won't do it in the future unless the Orioles agree to it. It's hard for a baseball team to agree to be away every Memorial Day weekend. If I'm the Orioles, I certainly wouldn't want another event across the parking lot" (Baltimore SUN, 5/23).
KEEPING PACE: In Baltimore, Ryan Sharrow cited an NCAA spokesperson as saying that around 65,000 tickets "have been sold" for this weekend’s Final Four, which would keep the event "on pace to match last year's attendance in Philadelphia." But "good weather and an appearance by the University of Maryland could lead to a strong walk up crowd this weekend" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 5/20).
