PiPress: Minnesota seeks NCAA basketball Final Four

[BleedGopher]

per Doug Belden:

Following the successful effort to bring the Super Bowl to town in 2018, Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday plans to detail the campaign to land the men's basketball Final Four.

The local bid for the college tournament has already been submitted, and Minneapolis is one of eight finalists, said Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. The selection will be made in November.

Planners hope to continue the success last month of landing Super Bowl LII in a surprise over New Orleans and Indianapolis. The high-profile sporting events are big draws for sports fans, corporate leaders and media each year.

Local business leaders and sports figures will join Dayton at the Capitol for a 2 p.m. news conference on the lastest push, according to a release from his office.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_25884163/minnesota-seeks-ncaa-basketball-final-four

Go Gophers!!

 

[gopherkinta]

per Doug Belden:

Following the successful effort to bring the Super Bowl to town in 2018, Gov. Mark Dayton on Tuesday plans to detail the campaign to land the men's basketball Final Four.

The local bid for the college tournament has already been submitted, and Minneapolis is one of eight finalists, said Michele Kelm-Helgen, chair of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority. The selection will be made in November.

Planners hope to continue the success last month of landing Super Bowl LII in a surprise over New Orleans and Indianapolis. The high-profile sporting events are big draws for sports fans, corporate leaders and media each year.

Local business leaders and sports figures will join Dayton at the Capitol for a 2 p.m. news conference on the lastest push, according to a release from his office.

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_25884163/minnesota-seeks-ncaa-basketball-final-four

Go Gophers!!

Please make this happen!

 

[bga1]

I don't care if we host one. I just want us to be in one.

Go Gophers!

 

[pharmacygopher]

It seems like Minneapolis quit trying to get any NCAA tournaments towards the end of the Dome era. It would be nice to get back in a rotation of NCAA opening rounds/Regional Final/Final 4.

I'm curious if they'll have to do anything with the roof for basketball if there are sun/shadow issues

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

I don't care if we host one. I just want us to be in one.

Go Gophers!

This is very typical of our political and business leaders ways of thinking. We can't get behind a plan to make the U athletics programs among the best. But, we will roll out the red carpet at a chance to showcase what will likely be other elite college programs. Very sad if you ask me.

 

[HOOP DREAMS]

I don't care if we host one. I just want us to be in one.

Hosting one has no affect on being in one, so bring it here.

 

[joshvanklomp]

It seems like Minneapolis quit trying to get any NCAA tournaments towards the end of the Dome era. It would be nice to get back in a rotation of NCAA opening rounds/Regional Final/Final 4.

I'm curious if they'll have to do anything with the roof for basketball if there are sun/shadow issues

It wasn't that they stopped trying. They were essentially told that the Metrodome didn't have the necessary amenities to host anything. Maybe opening weekend stuff, but that's about it.

 

[howeda7]

This is very typical of our political and business leaders ways of thinking. We can't get behind a plan to make the U athletics programs among the best. But, we will roll out the red carpet at a chance to showcase what will likely be other elite college programs. Very sad if you ask me.

I don't see what bidding to host a Final Four in a new stadium takes away from supporting the U. They have nothing to do with each other outside of the U being the 'host.'

 

[howeda7]

It wasn't that they stopped trying. They were essentially told that the Metrodome didn't have the necessary amenities to host anything. Maybe opening weekend stuff, but that's about it.

They hosted a 1st/2nd round as recently as 2009 IIRC. Beyond that point they could never be assured how much longer the Dome would be around. Even for 1st and 2nd rounds I believe they book a couple years in advance.

 

[dpodoll68]

This is very typical of our political and business leaders ways of thinking. We can't get behind a plan to make the U athletics programs among the best. But, we will roll out the red carpet at a chance to showcase what will likely be other elite college programs. Very sad if you ask me.

Making the U competitive costs money. Bringing showcase events to the area makes money. What is difficult to understand?

 

[SKOOKM]

I'm curious if they'll have to do anything with the roof for basketball if there are sun/shadow issues

I wouldn't worry about it. We won't get the final four for a few years, by then the Superbowl banners will block out any unwanted sun rays.

 

[BleedGopher]

STrib: Dayton, Whalen, Tucker lead push for Final Four at new Vikings stadium

Dayton said no taxpayer money will be involved in the campaign to land a Final Four, which has as its honorary co-chairs Lindsay Whalen and Trent Tucker, both former Gophers who made their marks in the pros. The University of Minnesota, the state’s only Division I school for basketball, would act as host.

Tucker, who also is athletic director for Minneapolis public schools, said he’s looking forward to working with the NCAA and others “on the youth programs that are a major component in the bid process and in the legacy that follows the championship game,” namely basketball clinics for students in Grades 3 through 8.

http://www.startribune.com/local/261651491.html

Go Gophers!!

 

[Golden_Sloth]

Glad to see TT involved. He's about as good a face as you can put on our program.

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

I don't see what bidding to host a Final Four in a new stadium takes away from supporting the U. They have nothing to do with each other outside of the U being the 'host.'

You are right about bidding on the Final Four not affecting support for the U athletics. That's because support for U athletics is nearly nonexistent to begin with. This is my point. Where is Gov. Dayton getting behind the facilities upgrades? Who is the U's Herb Kohl, Phil Knight, or T. Boone Pickens? It would be great to play a FF in our own back yard, but I'd rather see the Gophers play in a one no matter where it is than to host one with almost no shot at being there.

Making the U competitive costs money. Bringing showcase events to the area makes money. What is difficult to understand?

I agree hosting such an event has an economic impact in the short-term though one can argue that the level is exaggerated. Once it's over, so is the financial benefit until the next opportunity to host an event. The Dome had four year periods between events from the time it opened until 2009, the last year it hosted tournament games. So there isn't much of an ongoing economic impact for hosting these events regardless.

I would argue that while upgrading athletic facilities won't reap immediate financial benefits, eventually it will pay off with an ongoing benefit imo. Oregon is a prime example of what Minnesota can be in the next 10 years. The Ducks are among the richest departments in college athletics and growing. I would rather think long-term instead of short-term but to each his own.

 

[dpodoll68]

I would argue that while upgrading athletic facilities won't reap immediate financial benefits, eventually it will pay off with an ongoing benefit imo. Oregon is a prime example of what Minnesota can be in the next 10 years. The Ducks are among the richest departments in college athletics and growing. I would rather think long-term instead of short-term but to each his own.

Yes, money that goes to the university. That money doesn't go to the legislature or to government officials. Why would they lobby for facilities? Why do they care how the University of Minnesota athletics teams perform? Unless they are alumni or fans and have a personal vested interest in it, they don't care, nor should they. From a bottom-line perspective, the performance of the University of Minnesota's sports teams, whether on the field or in the account books, is of zero consequence to the state legislature. When have you ever seen any elected government officials lobby for facilities improvements for their respective land-grant university? If you have, I bet dollars to donuts they are alums and/or boosters with a personal interest that has nothing to do with their governmental responsibilities. Why would Dayton care about the U's facilities? He went to Yale. The other guys you mentioned are terrible examples, given that Knight and Pickens are private citizens, and Kohl is a Badger alum who donated his own money, not the public's money.

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

Yes, money that goes to the university. That money doesn't go to the legislature or to government officials. Why would they lobby for facilities? Why do they care how the University of Minnesota athletics teams perform? Unless they are alumni or fans and have a personal vested interest in it, they don't care, nor should they. From a bottom-line perspective, the performance of the University of Minnesota's sports teams, whether on the field or in the account books, is of zero consequence to the state legislature. When have you ever seen any elected government officials lobby for facilities improvements for their respective land-grant university? If you have, I bet dollars to donuts they are alums and/or boosters with a personal interest that has nothing to do with their governmental responsibilities. Why would Dayton care about the U's facilities? He went to Yale. The other guys you mentioned are terrible examples, given that Knight and Pickens are private citizens, and Kohl is a Badger alum who donated his own money, not the public's money.

Where did I mention public money?

 

[dpodoll68]

Where did I mention public money?

Right here:

This is very typical of our political and business leaders ways of thinking. We can't get behind a plan to make the U athletics programs among the best. But, we will roll out the red carpet at a chance to showcase what will likely be other elite college programs. Very sad if you ask me.

Political leaders. Where would this hypothetical money to improve the U's athletics programs come from? From the political leaders' own pockets? That's even more delusional than thinking they would or should care about the improvement at all.

What I'm trying to get you to understand is that the government (i.e., political leaders), outside of those who have a personal interest in the U (alums and boosters), does not and should not have any concern over the improvement of the U's athletic programs. That's up to the U itself, along with alumni, boosters, and fans. That's not the government's job, nor should it be.

 

[Maximus]

What I'm trying to get you to understand is that the government (i.e., political leaders), outside of those who have a personal interest in the U (alums and boosters), does not and should not have any concern over the improvement of the U's athletic programs. That's up to the U itself, along with alumni, boosters, and fans. That's not the government's job, nor should it be.

Didn't the state legislature and governor ignore that advice in May, 2006.

 

[dpodoll68]

Didn't the state legislature and governor ignore that advice in May, 2006.

If they want to fund something, more power to them. They're not compelled to, nor should anyone expect it from them. It's not their job.

 

[howeda7]

TCF got built in large part thanks to Target Field. They couldn't fund TF and not TCF. Likewise, if the U had determined that they couldn't raise the money necessary for the upgraded practice facilities, they should have been ready to get some funds earmarked in the Vikings bill. Who would say no to $100 million for the U when giving 5 times that much to Ziggy? But sadly, the Athletic Department had either dithered around and was not ready to make such a request, or still delusional enough to believe they could raise it privately any day now. So 2 years later, here we sit. I'm not sure how that's the Legislature's fault.

 

[die hard gopher]

This won't help recruiting or anything like that, will it? Pretty much non relevant to gopher basketball. Not that the news isn't worthy of a thread though.

 

[pharmacygopher]

This won't help recruiting or anything like that, will it? Pretty much non relevant to gopher basketball. Not that the news isn't worthy of a thread though.

It's another selling point for the University/city/metro area. I don't envision a Final Four in Madision, Iowa City or Campaign anytime soon.