Big Ten Conference Tourney At MSG Debuts To Small Crowds

The Big Ten tournament kicked off last night at MSG, and there were "swaths of empty seats at the venue for the first round," with the upper decks "largely untouched." The conference "didn’t immediately announce attendance figures," but it was "reminiscent of the opening night of the tournament a year ago in Washington, where the attendance dipped by more than" 20% than the previous season, when it was held in its usual Midwest hub (WASHINGTON POST, 3/1). Tickets for each of today's sessions at the Garden are "going for as little as $6 online" (N.Y. POST, 3/1).

In this SportsBusiness Journal/Daily Podcast, Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany explains the strategy behind the league’s push into the Northeast and the challenges that come with it.