MVC Tourney to Kansas City, MO?

by **DoubleJayAlum** » October 19th, 2011, 9:12 am

Assuming that Mizzou is SEC bound, Does KC keep the Big 12 basketball tourney? I saw a story in the KC Star where the estimated economic impact of the Big 12 tourney is $14 million. If they lose that tourney and the corresponding money, would they be more interested in making a competitive bid for our tourney?

I know many have said it over the years, but I think the MVC could really benefit from rotating the tourney between STL & KC. For one thing, assuming KC would make a competitive bid, I think the tourney would be much more profitable in KC. Attendance would be way up simply by the additional Creighton and WSU fans that would make the trip (UNI fans' numbers may also see an uptick). And yes, I believe that would more than offset the losses from other schools fanbases that won't travel to KC as the CU & WSU fanbases are already the largest groups in STL year after year. Let's face it, with SIU's struggles their fanbase hasn't been going to the STL games and attendance is way, way down from the 2007 all time high.

I also think there may be more to do in KC. The city of St Louis seems remarkably unprepared every year for the tourney and the downtown restaurants don't seem to really care (they certainly don't run special promotions to try to take advantage of all the visitors). Downtown STL is a ghost town in the evenings and on weekends. KC has more entertainment options and I think the restaurants will be much more accommodating. There are better shopping options for the women too.

One other benefit would be that hosting the tourney every other year could have a positive impact on MVC recruiting in the KC area. KC produces a lot of kids and getting greater access to those kids could really enhance the talent in the league.

I think this is something that MVC should seriously consider if the Big 12 tourney is moved from KC...

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by **ihsi** » October 19th, 2011, 9:22 am

I love St. Louis, but the Power and Light district in KC next to Sprint would be an amazing upgrade.

by **cpacmel** » October 19th, 2011, 9:23 am

I think the conference would be wise to rotate it between St.louis and KC. And I live in Chicago, so that doesn't benefit me personally at all.

by **FeartheQ** » October 19th, 2011, 9:26 am

I'd rather see us use KC

by **unipanther99** » October 19th, 2011, 10:09 am

I think the "more UNI fans would come" argument is overstated. It's basically the same distance and both trips are 4 lane highways. I personally like St. Louis. We've had success there, and it's also the site of our first Sweet Sixteen. Arch Madness is a recogizable brand that would be lost if we go to KC or anywhere else.

Also, I don't see why KC would be out of the Big XII rotation just because they lose Mizzou. Kansas, K-State, and Iowa State travel very well to KC. Even the Oklahoma schools usually have a good showing when they have solid teams.

by **DoubleJayAlum** » October 19th, 2011, 10:19 am

unipanther99 wrote:I think the "more UNI fans would come" argument is overstated. It's basically the same distance and both trips are 4 lane highways. I personally like St. Louis. We've had success there, and it's also the site of our first Sweet Sixteen. Arch Madness is a recogizable brand that would be lost if we go to KC or anywhere else.

Frankly, the UNI part was just a parenthetical throw in. Even without increased UNI numbers, I still think attendance would be significantly greater in STL. Let's be honest - the number of UNI fans at the MVC tourney isn't better than a lot of fan bases, even when UNI is the number one seed.

unipanther99 wrote:Also, I don't see why KC would be out of the Big XII rotation just because they lose Mizzou. Kansas, K-State, and Iowa State travel very well to KC. Even the Oklahoma schools usually have a good showing when they have solid teams.

A few reasons: (1) Kansas City would no longer technically be on the Big 12 map (it is in Missouri, although on the border with Kansas); (2) With Nebraska, Colorado and Mizzou gone, and with TCU being added (so far) the conference continues to shift south; (3) When the Big 12 replaces Mizzou it will not be with another northern school and the replacement will not be near KC; (3) There are other venue options - Oklahoma City has an NBA arena and recently hosted the tourney; (4) there is a belief that the Big 12 returned the tourney to KC to appease the northern schools that complained about the FB championship being in Arlington, TX; with 3 less northern teams to appease, the tourney would be free to move south; (5) KU fans will travel anywhere.

by **ihsi** » October 19th, 2011, 10:27 am

The tournament is a money maker. If we can make more in KC from additional ticket sales, we should do it.

by **unipanther99** » October 19th, 2011, 10:35 am

If they go with Louisville as expected, I bet their fans would rather see KC than Dallas. Although who knows, maybe if they do add Louisville, West Virginia, etc. they might consider adding STL to the rotation. I believe they used to have the football championship there on a rotating basis.

by **unipanther99** » October 19th, 2011, 10:37 am

ihsi wrote:The tournament is a money maker. If we can make more in KC from additional ticket sales, we should do it.

It's a gamble. Yes Creighton and WSU attendance will spike, but others will go down significantly. Also, I don't think the Kansas City metro area will adopt the conference and buy up corporate seats and sponsorships like STL does. We will be thought as a consolation prize at best if the Big XII backs out.

by **LanceShock** » October 19th, 2011, 11:40 am

I did some looking at stats for how far St Louis and Kansas City are from the different schools. For St Louis, I used the distances published in the MVC Media Guide. For Kansas City, I used Google Maps from each campus location to the Sprint Center.

Average Distance:
St Louis - 261 miles
Kansas City - 295 miles

Closest School
St Louis - SIU at 101 miles
Kansas City - MSU at 167 miles

Farthest School
St Louis - WSU at 446 miles
Kansas City - Evansville at 419 miles

Overall, St Louis has the lowest average distance, but has greater variation in distance. Since WSU and CU travel to St Louis so well, I looked at distances if you take those two schools out. St Louis goes to an average distance of 216 miles with SIU closest at 101 miles and Northern Iowa furthest at 367 miles (Drake is close at 365 miles). Kansas City goes to an average distance of 321 miles with the closest school being MSU at 167 miles and the furthest school Evansville at 419 miles. With the MVC headquarters in KC along with this data for the schools who do not travel well, I think a snowball has a better chance than even alternating in KC unless the MVC decides it wants to save the planet.