Dickies Arena, which is scheduled to open in November '19, has a capacity of 13,000DICKIES ARENA
Ft. Worth was thwarted in its effort to bring the Big 12 men's basketball tournament to Dickies Arena after the conference eliminated a potential bid by "putting a requirement on seating capacity of more than 13,000," according to Drew Davison of the Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM. Dickies Arena, which is scheduled to open in November '19, has a capacity of 13,000. Sprint Center, which the Big 12 announced will "remain the host site for the men’s and women’s championships" through '24, can seat 18,972. Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that "no other cities made a bid for the tournament," although cities such as Ft. Worth "didn’t have an option because of the seating requirements." Davison notes another hurdle for Ft. Worth "would have been finding a venue for the women’s tournament," as the conference "wanted a host city that could handle both events." K.C.'s Municipal Auditorium "will host the women’s tournament after undergoing" a $5M renovation project (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/25). Sprint Center has hosted the tourney since '10, and in K.C., Blair Kerkhoff notes the extension "will mean the Big 12 men’s event will have been" in K.C. for "23 of its 28 years." The men’s and women’s tournaments "will be played in the same week" (K.C. STAR, 10/25).
NEW YORK ON MY MIND: In Raleigh, Luke DeCock notes the ACC "continues to covet" MSG as a venue for its conference tourney and "wants to maintain maximum flexibility going forward should an opportunity open to get into that arena." ACC Commissioner John Swofford said, “Everybody in our league, around that table, feels like it’s important for our tournament to be in New York periodically. It’s just a question of where.” While the Big East’s contract with the MSG is "believed to contain options for either side, the earliest another conference could potentially get into the Garden for a year, if at all," looks to be '24. Swofford has previously "ruled out holding the tournament a week early and sharing the arena with the Big East, as the Big Ten did last year." The ACC "remains happy" with Barclays Center as its primary home in N.Y. (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 10/25).
