Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

[jackmd]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

yea sioux falls is podunk, sorry.

We can only hope this means you won't be there the next few years. I suppose we can only dream for that hope to become reality.

[jacks nl]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

kelo reports its down to sioux falls and tulsa

[boxerboy]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

kelo reports its down to sioux falls and tulsa

Not Fargo?? Poor Lakes.
Somewhere I either heard or read that no sport should be held in the Olympics when that sport has an event that is bigger than an Olympic gold medal. For instance soccer World Cup is bigger etc. The same is true for a community where the Summit Conf. tourney would not be one of the bigger events there. That rules out Chicago, Minneapolis etc. The community itself will not support it so don't hold it there.

[AnimalHouse83]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

Minneapolis sounds nice at first glance, but ...

There would be no local support from fans or corporate sponsors. You'd possibly have competition from the Minnesota state basketball tournaments at Target Center and Williams Arena. 6000-7000 people rattling around the 20,000 seat Target Center would not be attractive. And the Gophers renting Williams Arena to a conference with no local connection makes no sense.

As others have stated, the tournament needs to be where the Summit fans are. Just my .02

[JackrabbitGuy]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

As others have stated, the tournament needs to be where the Summit fans are. Just my .02

More to the point, the Summite League Tournament should be were it is a big deal. At least for now, this tournament makes the biggest splash here in Sioux Falls. In Minnespolis, Kansas City or even in Tulsa the tournament doesn't garner as much attention as it does here, and that is seen in the attendance and perhpas even more so in the corporate sponsorships. This tournament is a legitimate opportunity for corporate sponsors to make a splash with their sponsorship dollars, in large cities there are many more opportunities to create momentum for your company through sponsorships.

It dominates sports news and news in general here, and I suspect it will only gain momentum in its second year. I was there for most sessions this year, and enjoyed it thourougly, even when SDSU wasn't playing. We'll see you there next spring.

[filbert]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

I just saw Tulsa got the 2010 Conference USA men's and women's tournaments . . . and the Mountain West tournament committed to Las Vegas through 2013 or so.

[valleyrabbit]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

I think I have said this before, but Sioux Falls is a perfect fit for the Summit. With USD being in the conference, that gives the league two schools and their alums with deep pockets in one state fighting for it. Don't think for a minute UND will fight for the tournament to be in Fargo if they get in the league. ORU is the only school who wants it in Tulsa. It is great city, the money is there and hopefully long term the facilities will be there too.

[FargoBison]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

There are 50,000 alumni and a ton of Minnesota kids on our teams, there is a local connection in Minneapolis. I don't think you guys have the right perspective on this, I've been two NDSU football games and of course the NCAA tournament in Minneapolis and it was amazing how many NDSU fans were there. Add in fans of the other three dakota schools and the town could be taken over. The media will cover local athletes and since the city doesn't get conference tournaments it would be unique.

I think it should be given a try. If it fails it is a two year deal and would never be tried again. What is the harm in that?

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

There are 50,000 alumni and a ton of Minnesota kids on our teams, there is a local connection in Minneapolis. I don't think you guys have the right perspective on this, I've been two NDSU football games and of course the NCAA tournament in Minneapolis and it was amazing how many NDSU fans were there. Add in fans of the other three dakota schools and the town could be taken over. The media will cover local athletes and since the city doesn't get conference tournaments it would be unique.

I think it should be given a try. If it fails it is a two year deal and would never be tried again. What is the harm in that?

Why go to Minneapolis and experiment when you don't have too. I would rather see it in Grand Forks or Bismarck where I think the locals will get behind it because it's a big deal for the community than take it to Minneapolis where it won't be percieved as a quality entertainment option as most outside of alumni in the area have ever heard of the schools.

[FargoBison]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

Why go to Minneapolis and experiment when you don't have too. I would rather see it in Grand Forks or Bismarck where I think the locals will get behind it because it's a big deal for the community than take it to Minneapolis where it won't be percieved as a quality entertainment option as most outside of alumni in the area have ever heard of the schools.

You experiment because it could work, maybe even locals check it out because there is a local factor with all Minnesota athletes and it is unique. I know people in Minnesota are aware of NDSU and UND, you act like I'm pushing Chicago, over half of NDSU's student body is from Minnesota with a large chunk of that coming from the Twin Cities.

Call me crazy but I think it is better to be in a major metro area, if the Summit can find a niche in Minneapolis it could be great for the league.

Minneapolis is probably the most fair option for the rest of the league, it is neutral and far easier to get to. If it works it could be the perfect option. Better than Fargo or SF, if it fails then it never has to happen again.

I hope the tournament is never in GF, they don't support the ND state tournament. They only support hockey.

I've brought this up on Bisonville and ORU's board, kind of funny that only SDSU fans object to it.

[Kemo]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

There are 50,000 alumni and a ton of Minnesota kids on our teams, there is a local connection in Minneapolis. I don't think you guys have the right perspective on this, I've been two NDSU football games and of course the NCAA tournament in Minneapolis and it was amazing how many NDSU fans were there. Add in fans of the other three dakota schools and the town could be taken over. The media will cover local athletes and since the city doesn't get conference tournaments it would be unique.

I think it should be given a try. If it fails it is a two year deal and would never be tried again. What is the harm in that?

I personally think the Summit League Tournament has the potential to be a real success in Minneapolis if held at the right time and promoted right, but I think Sioux Falls is less of a gamble as of now. When USD and presumably UND are full members I think the gamble becomes less risky, but the problem still lies in who is going to take the gamble in Minneapolis? There a lot more corporate sponsorship opportunities in the Twin Cities area; so which company or group of companies are willing to put together a big enough bid to land the tournament that has more risk involved than other sponsorship opportunities in the area? There is also the issue with finding a facility available for 4 straight days that could host these games, as the Target Center could be already booked with either T-Wolves games or the Minnesota State Basketball Tournament.

I think many of us understand where you are coming from FargoBison, but there is a lot of red tape that needs to be cut down in order to be able to even try this experiment. If this is to ever happen, I think it will be at the pushing of xDSU/UxD alumni that live in the Twin City area and has a lot of money/pull within the community.

[filbert]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

You experiment because it could work, maybe even locals check it out because there is a local factor with all Minnesota athletes and it is unique. I know people in Minnesota are aware of NDSU and UND, you act like I'm pushing Chicago, over half of NDSU's student body is from Minnesota with a large chunk of that coming from the Twin Cities.

Call me crazy but I think it is better to be in a major metro area, if the Summit can find a niche in Minneapolis it could be great for the league.

Minneapolis is probably the most fair option for the rest of the league, it is neutral and far easier to get to. If it works it could be the perfect option. Better than Fargo or SF, if it fails then it never has to happen again.

I hope the tournament is never in GF, they don't support the ND state tournament. They only support hockey.

I've brought this up on Bisonville and ORU's board, kind of funny that only SDSU fans object to it.

Warning: off-the-wall, rampant personal speculation ahead. Your mileage may vary.

I think part of the relative difference in reaction to the tournament in MSP lays in the fact that, in my perception at least, there is a much, much stronger cultural connection between North Dakota and Minnesota/Minneapolis-St. Paul than exists between the city and state and South Dakota.

For most North Dakotans, Minneapolis/St. Paul is the only major city that really matters. While it's THE major city for a lot of South Dakotans as well, Denver, KC, and even Omaha and Chicago all have pieces of the "big-city" cultural influence in SD as well. So South Dakotans may not look quite as automatically towards MSP as the major urban center as ND folks may tend to do. Not saying that Denver and Winnepeg don't also have that big-city pull for ND, just that SD has a bit different relationship to MSP that ND does in the aggregate.

Of course, there's also the fact that SD has already hosted the tournament and, perhaps, there's a feeling that in some way it's "theirs" and SD folks don't want to share it with MSP.

Just a diversion into pop sociology, and of course IMHO.

[NoVaJack]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

I've brought this up on Bisonville and ORU's board, kind of funny that only SDSU fans object to it.

Could one explanation be that the tournament set attendance marks in sioux falls?
Why mess with a proven thing?

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

I actually think FargoB makes some good points. I am not sure that it would have the success it will in Sioux Falls, but I think that if it went over extremely well in MSP, it could do better for the conference than it does in meeting our current expectations in Sioux Falls. If it does horrible in the MSP, I wonder if it would be worse than it has been in past years? I don't know on that at all.

Is it a gamble, you bet? But as with all gambling situations, they only way you are assured of never knowing is by not placing your bet.

[FargoBison]

Re: Will Summit tourney stay in Sioux Falls?

I personally think the Summit League Tournament has the potential to be a real success in Minneapolis if held at the right time and promoted right, but I think Sioux Falls is less of a gamble as of now. When USD and presumably UND are full members I think the gamble becomes less risky, but the problem still lies in who is going to take the gamble in Minneapolis? There a lot more corporate sponsorship opportunities in the Twin Cities area; so which company or group of companies are willing to put together a big enough bid to land the tournament that has more risk involved than other sponsorship opportunities in the area? There is also the issue with finding a facility available for 4 straight days that could host these games, as the Target Center could be already booked with either T-Wolves games or the Minnesota State Basketball Tournament.

I think many of us understand where you are coming from FargoBison, but there is a lot of red tape that needs to be cut down in order to be able to even try this experiment. If this is to ever happen, I think it will be at the pushing of xDSU/UxD alumni that live in the Twin City area and has a lot of money/pull within the community.

That is a great take Kemo, very solid. It is definitely going to take some teamwork and working the right connections. I do agree that if all four Dakota schools are in is when it becomes the most attractive. It might take NDSU and UND working together to get the ball rolling and at least in the past that hasn't always been a great partnership but the new admin up in GF seems to have a new outlook on things.