And I'd add that we won't go back to campus sites. They wouldn't be boasting a historic announcement for that.
I'd also add that I think KC would embrace the tournament much more than STL or CHI. I think you'd find more non MVC fans show up to watch. I have KU and KSU friends that would go if it moved. I'm sure there are some MU people that would too but I don't associate with people from Missouri
SubGod22 wrote:By Doug Elgin standards, I guess so. And it's only guaranteed for three years. Is the historic part that there are two option years at the end of it?
Seems Elgin has been taking classes at the Swella School™
SubGod22 wrote:By Doug Elgin standards, I guess so. And it's only guaranteed for three years. Is the historic part that there are two option years at the end of it?
Seems Elgin has been taking classes at the Swella School™
Common sense question. How much did Stl pay to get the tournament? Who at Loyola could have the connections for hotels and a venue to even put together a presentation or a bid?
If you overlaid attendance figures with geography, the center of the MVC footprint would probably come out somewhere along I-70 between St. Louis and Columbia, Mo. And if you think this is unusual or wildly unprecedented in MVC history, it's not-- even when Creighton, Tulsa, West Texas A&M, and New Mexico State were in the conference, after the departure of Cincinnati. Bradley, Indiana State, and Southern Illinois were bigger factors then.
If the tournament were held in Kansas City, fans from six MVC schools would have to drive through St. Louis first before the 248-mile trip on I-70 across Missouri. I don't mind Kansas City so much-- actually, I'd love to go at least once-- but the way the Interstate and train routes are set up, it would be a big net minus for most fans. Then there's the fact that the league can send more manpower to the St. Louis venue on short notice, and there's no other conference tournament to compete with like the Big 12 would be in KC.
I see a lot of "the Butler effect" impuses on the part of Wichita State fans, but thankfully, the MVC hasn't caved in to it. Conceding to "the Butler effect" really destroyed the Horizon.
Another reason Wichita fans would at least like a rotation is because every MVC school is closer to Kansas City than Wichita is to Saint Louis. And the clamoring for KC started LONG before the past few years. WSU, CU and Drake have all wanted it moved there at least on a rotational basis. Most MSU and UNI fans I've been able to talk to about it would prefer KC. Some Wichita fans do get irritated that we have the longest drive and the best support, so yes, they do feel like they should get "rewarded" to a degree and not have to drive 7 hours every year. I don't think anyone really feels that we're entitled to have the MVC bow to our wishes. Hell, we've been in the conference long enough to know that'll never happen.
But again, outside of that, KC would be a better overall fan experience as the area around the arena isn't DEAD. The arena is also nicer and the city may actually show that they care, which STL hasn't in years. I think these are all bigger reasons why Wichita fans would like to see a move than KC being closer. I think the only reason most of the other schools prefer STL is because it's close. I've seen and heard very few people ever say anything positive about downtown STL or the arena. That's because there's nothing going on down there.
Again, it's more about the cities and what they offer than the distance. Not that the distance doesn't have any impact. It'd be nice to drive 3 to 3.5 hours as opposed to 7. But we're no closer to KC really than MSU or Drake.
SubGod22 wrote:Another reason Wichita fans would at least like a rotation is because every MVC school is closer to Kansas City than Wichita is to Saint Louis.
Every MVC school except one.
And the difference between Wichita-St. Louis and Evansville/Terre Haute/Peoria-Kansas City is less than 35 miles via Interstates.
Personally I just don't like St Louis. Has nothing to do with the drive or anything. The area around sprint center in KC is very nice and built for tourneys like this. The college basketball fan experience and college basketball hall of fame are there for goodness sake!!!! It is PERFECT and much nicer area then around Scott trade in St Louis.
For the record I would even support Chicago just to get out of St. Louis for a change. Hell at least flights are cheap out of Wichita now that Southwest is here !
I wish they would at least do a rotation of some sort just to keep it fresh
