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MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin: Announcement Regarding the Future of the MVC Tournament
I find it hard to find the precise attendance figures for Women's Basketball to see what the attendance did after their move from St. Louis to Moline....so I think the jury is still out and obviously it depends on which teams are playing who...
but certainly what I did find suggests the attendance didn't improve greatly except for the Championship game pitting Drake vs. UNI in 2017...which because it was in Moline, was the CHAMPIONSHIP GAME and involved two schools who were not far away right over the river - drew a pretty good crowd. I would hate to see them use that one example to argue the Men's Championship also needs to move.
I am wondering if the tournament will be moved to a smaller venue that is closer proximity to all MVC schools. After looking at travel distances from each school to Scottrade Center St Louis I compared that to distances from iWireless in Moline and Prairie Capital Convention Center in Springfield, IL. Overall Moline is 20 miles closer for all combined schools and Springfield is 182 miles closer. The longest distance traveled to St Louis is a near tie between Drake and Northern Iowa at 345 miles. If the tournament was to be in Moline the longest drive would be for Missouri St at 404 miles. But, if the tournament was held in Springfield, IL the longest drive would be reduced to 335 for Drake. Moline would be an ideal setting as the arena holds over 10k for basketball. It also has a large meeting space that could be used for something similar to the IHSA March Madness Experience at the Civic Center. Lastly, it would an added bonus having the Men's and Women's tournament in the same venue.
A St. Louis area radio station just reported (per a post on another board).. "... the announcement tomorrow is that Arch Madness is staying in St. Louis"
...so it appears they will announce they are exercising their option to renew the agreement with St. Louis & Scottrade thru 2020
Isn't it a given that the tournament will be in St. Louis as long as the current MVC administration is in place? They aren't going to move the tournament to aging facilities in Springfield or Moline when they passed on going to a new facility in KC while Wichita & Creighton were still in the conference.
Isn't it a given that the tournament will be in St. Louis as long as the current MVC administration is in place? They aren't going to move the tournament to aging facilities in Springfield or Moline when they passed on going to a new facility in KC while Wichita & Creighton were still in the conference.
I think you are right, though the MVC officials will say they consider other options fairly every time the contract is up for renewal.
But IMO, St. Louis is the best option by far, and not just because it is close to Peoria or because the MVC offices are located there. There are several other advantages- it is a major city with a lot of hotels, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment options that Springfield, Moline, and other smaller cities simply cannot compete with. The arena is great for basketball, and the capacity and availability of tickets is much greater than the other cities, though now attendance is down. St. Louis is a good college basketball town, while other cities mentioned are not. Even Chicago, Des Moines, and Indianapolis care very little about MVC basketball. And now with modernization and renovations to the Scottrade Arena, it would be crazy to consider moving the tournament.
MVC Associate Commissioner Jack Watkins spoke briefly, acknowledging that the MVC Tournament is exercising their option to extend their agreement with St. Louis and the Scottrade Center an additional 2 years to remain at the Scottrade Center through 2020.
The press conference ended after barely 10 minutes, and no questions were taken.
The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament will remain in St. Louis through at least 2020, MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin has announced.
ESPN interview with Doug Elgin:
-The MVC offices are not looking to move from St. Louis- only the location of the MVC basketball tourney is in question
-The renovations should keep the MVC Tourney in St. Louis well into the future
..but he leaves open that "the market" might change by 2020...or after he leaves his position...so he's still using the tourney as a bit of a bargaining chip
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