NCAA in talks to host the entire tournament in Indy

[Pakuni]

Brett McMurphy @Brett_McMurphy
NCAA announces its in preliminary talks with State of Indiana and the city of Indianapolis to potentially host the entire 68-team NCAA tournament around the metropolitan area during the coordinated dates in March & April.

[The Sultan]

Makes perfect sense.  It would also make sense to play it out over two and a half weeks instead of three and a half.

[zcg2013]

Makes perfect sense.  It would also make sense to play it out over two and a half weeks instead of three and a half.

If this does in fact happen, that would be quite the two and a half weeks of basketball.

[Warrior Code]

In Indy, you say?

[asdfasdf]

I'm curious how this would work. Presumably they are going to establish a bubble. Is there an event space large enough to host 68 teams and play multiple games simultaneously? I would imagine that even an convention center attached to an arena would struggle to handle the first 1-2 days of games unless the tournament games were spread out to include games on M-W.

[wadesworld]

I'm curious how this would work. Presumably they are going to establish a bubble. Is there an event space large enough to host 68 teams and play multiple games simultaneously? I would imagine that even an convention center attached to an arena would struggle to handle the first 1-2 days of games unless the tournament games were spread out to include games on M-W.

They'll have the ability to span out the first and second round to places like Bloomington and then once it's down to the S16 you just bus all those teams into Indianapolis.

[The Sultan]

They'll have the ability to span out the first and second round to places like Bloomington and then once it's down to the S16 you just bus all those teams into Indianapolis.

You may not have to go to Bloomington.  There are two D1 schools in Indianapolis (Butler, IUPUI), a D2 school (Indianapolis) and NAIA (Marian).  Plus you have the dome and an NBA arena as well.  And unlike normal tournament sites, you can run games all four days Thursday through Sunday.

[jesmu84]

You may not have to go to Bloomington.  There are two D1 schools in Indianapolis (Butler, IUPUI), a D2 school (Indianapolis) and NAIA (Marian).  Plus you have the dome and an NBA arena as well.  And unlike normal tournament sites, you can run games all four days Thursday through Sunday.

Ya.

Lucas oil, banker's life, butler, IUPUI, Marian, U Indy. Bloomington, Lafayette.

Some high schools have gyms that can seat 5000+ nearby, but obviously would be difficult to set-up with TV.

Plenty of hotels that could host teams/staff/parents.

[wadesworld]

You may not have to go to Bloomington.  There are two D1 schools in Indianapolis (Butler, IUPUI), a D2 school (Indianapolis) and NAIA (Marian).  Plus you have the dome and an NBA arena as well.  And unlike normal tournament sites, you can run games all four days Thursday through Sunday.

Yeah you might not need to, but the option is there.  If you wanted to still do Thursday/Saturday and Friday/Sunday sites and use the days between games to "clean/disinfect" you could use more venues.  But either way, Indi you'll have a couple different options as to how to run it and there are plenty of sites in the immediate area and then also "close enough" to make it work pretty easily.

[The Sultan]

Ya.

Lucas oil, banker's life, butler, IUPUI, Marian, U Indy. Bloomington, Lafayette.

Some high schools have gyms that can seat 5000+ nearby, but obviously would be difficult to set-up with TV.

Plenty of hotels that could host teams/staff/parents.

High school courts are too small.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

All I know was I was in Indy on a business trip the first week of March 2020.  All COVID hell broke lose the following week.  There was very little hotel rooms available in the downtown area and it was because of the Big 10 women's tournament.  I ended up staying in a southern suburb (that was pretty full) near the customer I was going to see.

[lawdog77]

All I know was I was in Indy on a business trip the first week of March 2020.  All COVID hell broke lose the following week.  There was very little hotel rooms available in the downtown area and it was because of the Big 10 women's tournament.  I ended up staying in a southern suburb (that was pretty full) near the customer I was going to see.

If its about hotel rooms, why not Vegas? I think Vegas has about 5 times as many rooms as Indy. I think Indy has around 30,000. Is that enough for 68 teams+NCAA staff, etc for that first round?

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

If its about hotel rooms, why not Vegas? I think Vegas has about 5 times as many rooms as Indy. I think Indy has around 30,000. Is that enough for 68 teams+NCAA staff, etc for that first round?

Will there be fans allowed in the arenas?  That will determine the number of attendees. 

[GooooMarquette]

If its about hotel rooms, why not Vegas? I think Vegas has about 5 times as many rooms as Indy. I think Indy has around 30,000. Is that enough for 68 teams+NCAA staff, etc for that first round?

I don't think there would be an issue with accommodations for teams and tournament officials. It would be a different story if they were planning to allow fans to attend, but I kinda doubt that's going to happen. If they do allow fans, I'd bet it would start at the Sweet Sixteen or Final Four.

[Skatastrophy]

I don't think there would be an issue with accommodations for teams and tournament officials. It would be a different story if they were planning to allow fans to attend, but I kinda doubt that's going to happen. If they do allow fans, I'd bet it would start at the Sweet Sixteen or Final Four.

It's the MLB vs NBA problem. The NBA did an excellent job with their bubble, a controllable in/out procedure. The MLB stayed at public hotels in cities where other people were staying, using public elevators & lobbies. Way harder to control.

NCAA should do this at Disney who has already proved that they can nail this type of event.

[GooooMarquette]

It's the MLB vs NBA problem. The NBA did an excellent job with their bubble, a controllable in/out procedure. The MLB stayed at public hotels in cities where other people were staying, using public elevators & lobbies. Way harder to control.

NCAA should do this at Disney who has already proved that they can nail this type of event.

Agree on the MLB vs NBA analogy. And Disney could be a good option as well. Still, the NCAA has a ton of clout in Indy, and I suspect they could book all the rooms, dining facilities and conference facilities at several major hotels to create something very similar to the Disney bubble.

In either place, a single-location, consolidated format should put them way ahead of the MLB model.

[The Sultan]

I don't think you need a perfect, NBA like bubble to pull this off. 

[MU82]

I like the idea of a bubble.

And Indy is a great place for it. They have hosted numerous Final Fours, Super Bowls and other big sporting events. The city would do a great job.

[The Big East]

Thankfully Market Square Arena has been demolished. Lots of bad MU memories at that venue.

[dgies9156]

Thankfully Market Square Arena has been demolished. Lots of bad MU memories at that venue.

Only one. In March 1978. Nothing ever so bad except maybe Murray State two years ago.

[WI inferiority Complexes]

Only one. In March 1978. Nothing ever so bad except maybe Murray State two years ago.

Murray State two years ago was pretty f-ing bad. No "maybe" needed.

[GooooMarquette]

Only one. In March 1978. Nothing ever so bad except maybe Murray State two years ago.

Murray State was awful, but nothing compares to what happened in 1978. We were the #2 team in the country and should never have been in a position to lose in the first round.

[The Big East]

Only one. In March 1978. Nothing ever so bad except maybe Murray State two years ago.

dgies9156:
I was sitting in the stands at Market Square that day in 1978 stunned at what happened. Our team that year could have put another banner on the wall.

[Uncle Rico]

dgies9156:
I was sitting in the stands at Market Square that day in 1978 stunned at what happened. Our team that year could have put another banner on the wall.

Crapshoot

[wildbillsb]

Has it really been 43 years?!?