The Big Ten CCG Location

[RailBaronYarr]

The game will never, ever, never be played outdoors. Never. It will never be in Minnesota. Never, ever. Indy and Detroit will be the only two spots with the current B1G4 line up. Don't fool yourself--the rest of the B1G4 and the rest of the country don't look at the Twin Cities any differently than they look at Indy, Des Moines, or Milwaukee. No chance the game is ever here.

So if the rest of the conference doesn't view Mpls any different than Indy, why would it matter if it's there or here? Distance? I'm sure Nebraska and Wisconsin fans wouldn't have minded a 6 hour drive vs 9 to Indy and Wisconsin fans a 4 vs 5 hour drive. If there are so many PSU, Michigan, OSU fans on the east coast (NYC, DC, Philly) as people say, they aren't driving to a BTCG anyway, they're flying. Flights to MSP are not much more expensive from DC/NYC to MSP than Indy. Finally, for the drivers, people are OK with Detroit as an option, making MN and NE fans potentially drive 11 hours but we're not ok with OSU fans driving 11.5 and PSU fans driving 14.5 to Mpls? Whatever.

I also disagree about perception. Perception may be that Mpls is cold (er than it really is), but I doubt anyone would say that Minneapolis-St Paul is the same as Des Moines or Indy as far as a traveler's destination goes. I think it would be a benefit to the conference if it rotated between areas of the Big Ten while remaining neutral (neutral stadiums) for attendance and fan experience. It also gives the different areas the ability to highlight their states. And if you want to spin the angle of increasing the Big Ten's image in the community, you get local non-team fans energized about BT football by getting them to the games. People in Indy are beat over the head with this way too many times a year to care now. Oh yeah, let's not forget about the economic benefits rotating between sites.

 

[RailBaronYarr]

Delusion, pure delusion, spelling aside. MSP is #16, and on the drop. Minnesota will be out of the Top 20 in 2020. San Diego, Denver, Tampa, and likely Orlando and Las Vegas will shoot on by. Population is also irrelevant if your growth is based on immigration and per capita government aid.

I have lived here my whole life and have seen the era of our "peak" pass us by. You can possibly point to something different, but I doubt it. The population and economic engine in this area has peaked and will not be sustained. NW Airlines is gone. Target and 3M will follow. It is without a doubt.

That rant aside, Indy is simply centrally located and offers a superior stadium. We are not that better as a destination for the traveling fan. No one is going to the Guthrie or the Minnesota Orchestra while in town.

I love our Gophers. I would never in 1000 years watch any two other teams play in a CG.

There is not a "neutral" fan in Nebraska, Iowa, or Wisconsin that would come here to see OSU vs. Michigan State. Not one.

Bwahahaha. You clearly don't know anything. Because NW Airlines was BOUGHT by Delta, we should expect to see companies from completely different industries also move? My wife and sister both work for Target Corp, but you can read any of their plans online if you want, as well. Target has a major stake in Mpls and continues to invest in more headquarter buildings.

MSP is not sustained by immigration and per capita aid. Its growth is sustained by a very high education attainment level, wonderful living standards, and a healthy mix of retail/medical device/and light manufacturing industries. MSP is similar to Denver and Seattle - will continue to have medium level population growth of what Richard Florida calls the "creative class." Yes, it may be passed by slums like Vegas and Orlando (by the way, what do you have to say about growth by immigration in the other cities you cite?), but it will also grow faster than cities ahead of us like Philly and Detroit.

I also don't think anyone here is suggesting the Dome be the site for the game. The Vikings stadium will be done in 3 years?

How many "neutral" Iowa, OSU, MSU, Michigan fans went to Indy this year? Your point is irrelevant because it would take a very special BT fan to make a 5 hour drive from any of the "close" states to Indy. The point is in attracting more casual fans to the venue because it's only there once every 8 years. Can you tell me that regular Joe Indy football fan is more likely to attend a BT CCG year after year than a person in MN who knows it's a once in a decade type event? Doubt it. The odds are better in the latter situation.

As far as MSP not being a better travel destination, again bwahaha. Go ahead and cherry pick the "elite culturist" icon of MSP and assume that's the thing we're all saying people won't go to. MSP is by FAR a better traveler's destination than Indy. Better views/vistas (lakes, river), 2 cities (of which the smaller of ours is the size of Indy), Mall of America (like it or hate it people love to go there as a TRAVEL destination), and then all the other goodies like museums/shows/etc. If you don't think it's any better, find me some travel rankings where Indy comes out on top? Here. Wait, that had MSP in the list and Indy not on it. How busy is MSP's airport compared to Indy's? 16M passengers (16th ranked in the US) for MSP vs 3.6M passengers (50th) for Indy? Yeah we just don't have ANYONE coming here.

Even if your argument is true that MSP is no BETTER than Indy (which I disagree with), why is that an argument to KEEP it there rather than rotate it to another site? Why ignore other indisputably better cities like Chicago (or gasp DC and NYC when Rutgers/Maryland join) from the fold?

 

[maroonfive]

Nobody would go to the Guthrie but they do go the Mall of America. Thousands of neutral fans would go. Indianapolis is not an easy flight either. Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit are much better options.

Nobody would go to the Guthrie? I have season tickets. I think the championship game should rotate between the major cities located between the divisions. Something has to be done with this being the second year and nobody is showing up and even caring unless you are one of the teams involved.

Go Gophers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!