NCAA Tourney Games Are Leaving State of North Carolina...

[stever20]

Is this a 100% done deal and or if the state repeals the law will they reconsider? I'm not a political person at all but it amazes me that anyone would allow this to get this far.

I think if it gets repealed they'd reconsider. But I don't know what the timetable is for that - from what I gather, the NC GOP isn't going to go quietly on it, so who knows.

Also, the ACC just announced they'll be moving all neutral site championships that were to be hosted in North Carolina (including football in Charlotte, with about 3 months notice!):
http://www.theacc.com/news/statements-from-the-atlantic-coast-conference-09-14-2016

logistically I don't think there's enough time to reverse course. I don't know if NC government will be back in session until January.

The bigger thing may be what time it needs to be repealed by for it to not impact 2018 with Charlotte hosting.

[mpwalsh8]

Is this a 100% done deal and or if the state repeals the law will they reconsider? I'm not a political person at all but it amazes me that anyone would allow this to get this far.

The NCAA refunded my Greensboro ticket order (I live outside of Raleigh) yesterday so yes, it is a done deal. All of the NCAA championship events for the 2016-17 school year which were scheduled to be held in North Carolina are being moved. The Town of Cary has hosted both the Men's and Women's College Cup a number of times and after a number of unsuccessful bids, had won the Lacrosse Finals next spring. Gone.

I applaud the NCAA for doing this. HB2 is a terrible law championed by a few to the detriment of many. It was and continues to be a solution searching for a problem which doesn't exist. Governor Pat McCrory is stubborn and appears to have his heels dug in despite the overwhelming lack of support for the law and what it is doing to our state. I've lived in North Carolina since 1988 and while there have been a few things I'd consider a bit backwards, nothing compares to HB2 and the impact it has had. I cannot imagine the long term impact on jobs and future events this will ultimately have. And it was completely unnecessary.

[Demon22]

FWIW, the TD Garden is usually hosting the Hockey East Championships on the 3rd weekend in March.

That's why the Bruins and Celtics are on the road.

[whiteandblue77]

I know this might be 1% off topic but this kinda gets into why the Big East will NEVER be left out of any new P5 divisions--the B1G will annex us if they have to before they ever join up with the SEC and ACC and not have the Big East included. Just ask any Missouri fan, player, coach, administrator, congressman, governor, etc. etc. etc. why they were rejected by the B1G time and again, year after year, decade after decade. States that have long-tenured histories of slavery, racism, bigotry and segregation are... well... segregated from that conference.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

There are a lot of viable candidates for sure, but I suspect the NCAA will end up placing it a different ACC locale. One idea would be the place it in Dayton after the First Four.

Great idea, but Dayton is too far from the East coast to merit consideration.

Here's a replacement for NCAA tourney games moved out of North Carolina – Matt Norlander, CBS Sports – September 13, 2016

I'm told by a prominent source inside the NCAA that the East region will get the replacement site, so some city along the East Coast is going to inherit first- and second-round games. North or south, it doesn't matter. That opens up a lot of possibilities, and there are plenty of good options out there. Neighboring South Carolina, which has three potential spots -- Greenville, Columbia, Charleston -- could be a good choice. Virginia/DC/Maryland have a few nice options as well.

A source told me that a half-dozen cities have already sent in requests to host, and that number should grow. There will be a formal bid process, but it will be extremely accelerated. Cities and potential venues have until Sept. 27 to put their name into the mix. The men's basketball selection committee will take less than two weeks to review all applications and then, on Friday, Oct. 7, the NCAA will announce which city will be awarded as Greensboro's replacement.

So, given this is a unique circumstance, the NCAA should take advantage and offer up a creative, memorable, one-time-only substitute. Philadelphia's representatives should be putting in a bid, and in doing so, allowing the NCAA to pick a spot synonymous not just with basketball, but with the history of college basketball and a place with a rich past of hosting NCAA Tournament games.


Philadelphia's The Palestra is one of college basketball's most historic venues.

The spot so many refer to as "the birthplace of college basketball" is the very best candidate for a replacement venue this season. No gym (other than Dayton's) has hosted more NCAA Tournaments than the Palestra's 14. But it's been two generations since the historic hoop house had hosting honors. The last time the Palestra was part of the tournament was in 1984, when it hosted three play-in games for teams vying for 11 and 12 seeds. It hasn't been part of the NCAA Tournament with full-site duties since '78.

Now's the perfect -- and probably only -- time to change that.

So why not take the opportunity to put the NCAA Tournament in such a historic venue? Philadelphia is one of the biggest, most passionate and knowledgeable basketball cities in America and this event would immediately sell out. It would create a high demand, and would offer up something of a throwback. The Palestra isn't going to qualify in normal bid cycles, so if this is a one-time-only scenario, the NCAA should think outside of the box and pay homage to the sport by selecting college basketball's version of the Vatican.

The Palestra would get my vote, but I don’t have one.

[admin]

The Palestra would be an amazing venue to see the tournament, but man that would be a tough ticket to get once the allotments for the 8 schools were dsitrubuted.

[sciencejay]

I know the NCAA changed its seating capacity requirements for first and second weekend NCAA tourney host venues in 2013. Now they'll allow 10,000-12,000 minimum capacity for first weekend round sites, but the Palestra probably still doesn't qualify (8700). Omaha is hosting regional finals in 2018, but until the recent change, the CLink was too small for those rounds (18,000).

I think it's an incredible statement by businesses and the NCAA to really hammer the state of North Carolina for the enactment of this law that, as another poster stated, is a solution looking for a problem. Hopefully the governor and legislature revisit the issue as soon as possible.

[kmacker69]

NC isn't changing a thing unless the Governor and the state house get a complete changeover. (Not getting into why so it isn't political. There have been record numbers of visitor to NC this year, much to my dismay, but you won't hear that outside the state, becasue it doesn't fit the agenda.) I would hope they move it to South Carolina because that is closer for me, but the whole rest of the BE is probably hoping for further north I'm sure.

[stever20]

just saw this from Andy Katz:
Furman AD Mike Buddie tells ESPN the school and Southern Conference are bidding to host the 2017 NCAA men's first and second round in Greenville, S.C., (capacity 15,951), replacing Greensboro, NC. Buddie said as soon as the confederate flag came down last year they made a decision to bid for a future site. Now that the flag is down from the state Capitol, South Carolina schools can host NCAA championship events. "We anticipated this may happen in NC (with HB2 law leading to NCAA withdrawal) and we're ready to host in grand fashion if selected," said Buddie.

[stever20]

Also saw this:
Source says the capacity of the 8,722-seat Palestra and the infrastructure for an 8-team event makes it a non-starter to land NCAA men's first and second round in 2017.

I think I posted this already- but if not...(can't tell since I'm on moderation)-
Furman AD Mike Buddie tells ESPN the school and Southern Conference are bidding to host the 2017 NCAA men's first and second round in Greenville, S.C., (capacity 15,951), replacing Greensboro, NC. Buddie said as soon as the confederate flag came down last year they made a decision to bid for a future site. Now that the flag is down from the state Capitol, South Carolina schools can host NCAA championship events. "We anticipated this may happen in NC (with HB2 law leading to NCAA withdrawal) and we're ready to host in grand fashion if selected," said Buddie.