2011 Final Four

[hopefan]

I am on the pro Salem side.... I'm thinking of cost, and I don't mind a long drive...  the relatively inexpensive choices of Ramada, Hampton, Holiday Inn etc, and typical fast food/hotel free breakfast were absolutely fine with me.   Long drive from St. Louis, but able to be done same day as semis, if you get up early.  And the facility - I'm not picky.. I loved it ...it had that National Championship Ambience... And last time I was there, there was a women's college softball tourney going on too, so our Saturday morning, early afternoon was also pleasantly filled.

[BUBeaverFan]

http://athletics.uindy.edu/sports/2008/10/16/sidebar_657.aspx?id=152

http://www.butlersports.com/information/facilities/hinkle_fieldhouse

I have enjoyed the trips to Salem and the people involved with the finals have been both supportive and gracious hosts.  A site with easier airport access might make it more attractive to the more casual fan and potentially student supporters as well.

[ScotsFan]

LOVE the idea of Hinkle Fieldhouse!  What a great basketball facility that is!  And you can't get much more centrally located than Indianapolis!

Another possible venue could be Cleveland State's Wolstein Center

They've hosted the DI tournament on multiple occasions at the Wolstein and I really thought this quote stood out to me the most:

Our main arena accommodates over 14,000 guests but can be easily downsized to create a more intimate setting for smaller crowds.

That almost sounds exactly what we are looking for IMO...

[r-buddy]

I am not sure that your fourth negative is necessarily a negative, r-buddy. I don't think it's meant to be like a college gymnasium. This is the national championship, after all.

To clarify (as I meant to do in my concluding comments), I agree that the seating located 20 feet from the court is not a negative a championship event that should have the feel of a neutral court.  For games during the season I share the preference for seating that is closer to the court. 

[KnightSlappy]

LOVE the idea of Hinkle Fieldhouse!  What a great basketball facility that is!  And you can't get much more centrally located than Indianapolis!

Another possible venue could be Cleveland State's Wolstein Center

They've hosted the DI tournament on multiple occasions at the Wolstein and I really thought this quote stood out to me the most:

Our main arena accommodates over 14,000 guests but can be easily downsized to create a more intimate setting for smaller crowds.

That almost sounds exactly what we are looking for IMO...

Indianapolis is one of my favorite cities to visit. I'd be happy with anything between Chicago and Cleveland, it might make the Final Four a yearly visit for me, but I hardly expect the NCAA to take my attendance into consideration when deciding between bids.

If the whole world moved to their favorite vacation spots, then the whole world would live in Hawaii and Italy and Cleveland.

[ScotsFan]

I'd be happy with anything between Chicago and Cleveland, it might make the Final Four a yearly visit for me...

I think that you are not alone in those thoughts which is why the NCAA should take a serious look at moving the Final 4 to a city that is not only more easily accessible than Salem, but also more centrally located geographically speaking.  Not only is Indy or Cleveland much more centrally located, they are also located in areas that have a strong D3 fan presense and I think a lot more 'neutral' fans would turn out for the event than what we see in Salem.

[BUBeaverFan]

http://www.lucasoilstadium.com/Assets/userfiles/PDFs/South_Endzone_Basketball.pdf

[ScotsFan]

http://www.lucasoilstadium.com/Assets/userfiles/PDFs/South_Endzone_Basketball.pdf

LOL! 

[fantastic50]

Hinkle Fieldhouse would be wonderful!  Indianapolis is centrally located and accessible by air or ground transportation, and the venue is one of the best historic structures in college basketball.

[John Gleich]

I am not sure that your fourth negative is necessarily a negative, r-buddy. I don't think it's meant to be like a college gymnasium. This is the national championship, after all.

This is a great point...  For D-III, Salem is relatively "big time."  And if you look at the D-I championship, it isn't like the Duke student section gets their floor seats for the game...

I went to the women's final four in Terra Haute in 2002 (At Rose Hullman) and they had a very, very nice facility (one of my favorite for D-III actually), but it very much had a D-III feel... not anything more special than a playoff game.

Salem, however, DID have a different feel because of the size of the venue.  Now, perhaps you'd still get that at some place like Calvin, which is considerably bigger than pretty much every other D-III gym in the country (heck, it's an arena, not a gym)... but you also then give Calvin a big home court advantage if they make it there and host.

[AO]

I am not sure that your fourth negative is necessarily a negative, r-buddy. I don't think it's meant to be like a college gymnasium. This is the national championship, after all.

This is a great point...  For D-III, Salem is relatively "big time."  And if you look at the D-I championship, it isn't like the Duke student section gets their floor seats for the game...

I went to the women's final four in Terra Haute in 2002 (At Rose Hullman) and they had a very, very nice facility (one of my favorite for D-III actually), but it very much had a D-III feel... not anything more special than a playoff game.

Salem, however, DID have a different feel because of the size of the venue.  Now, perhaps you'd still get that at some place like Calvin, which is considerably bigger than pretty much every other D-III gym in the country (heck, it's an arena, not a gym)... but you also then give Calvin a big home court advantage if they make it there and host.

The D-1 championship doesn't do it right either.  Putting a court in the middle of a football field is one way to get a lot of people in the door, but it's also a great way to guarantee terrible seats for everyone.  Looks great on tv though.

[BUBeaverFan]

http://www.lucasoilstadium.com/Assets/userfiles/PDFs/South_Endzone_Basketball.pdf

LOL! 

Might as well dream big!

Really I think Hinkle Fieldhouse would be great!

[ChicagoHopeNut]

http://www.lucasoilstadium.com/Assets/userfiles/PDFs/South_Endzone_Basketball.pdf

LOL! 

Might as well dream big!

Really I think Hinkle Fieldhouse would be great!

I saw my first game at Hinkle Fieldhouse right before Christmas this year. It was the Butler-Xavier game, which had a crazy ending.

It would certainly be an amazing and historic place to have the DIII tourney.

Honestly, my biggest complaint about Salem is location and accessibility. I was able to attend the 2008 Final Four because I lived in DC at the time so I could drive the 3.5-4 hours from DC on Friday on short notice.

[Just Bill]

I think you'd be hard pressed to find a D-I or D-II school who is going to get on board to rent/share their facility for a D-III tournament.  I think they would almost certainly choose to not book the venue so their own teams could practice, rather than host a tournament, that they aren't part of and likely won't make much money on.

[Titan Q]

Doesn't Hinkle Fieldhouse hold about 10,000?  In my opinion, that's way too big.  

Even if all the stars align and we find the perfect location (allowing fans to get there and with a strong local base), and we have 4 teams that travel well, I think 5000 is about the most we'd ever have at the D3 Final Four.  (Most years it will be about 3500.)

Unless we want a mostly-empty building, I think the best bet is the civic center type place in a mid-sized community.  The kind of place they play minor league hockey and arena football in...maybe mix in a little Def Leppard/Journey concert...and a rodeo.  A 5000-6000 seat arena (basketball seating capacity) is about as big as we need.

I think the Salem Civic Center is just the right size actually.  

Honestly, when you look at all factors, there are more pros than cons to Salem.  Maybe we just need to accept the location issue and move on.