Why not St. Louis as the location of the FCS National Championship game??

[TIMMY]

Don’t forget the Frisco Bowl!

Is that like a Frisco Melt but it's in a bowl? Cause I love a good Frisco Melt.

 

[TIMMY]

Yep. I mentioned this a few posts ago. Its a bad look for the FCS' "end of season goal" to play at an FBS Stadium.

It's better to play at a soccer stadium in a place called Frisco?

I think the soccer stadium is better because it's only American football identity is the FCS Championship. I'm all for it moving, but not to an FBS Stadium. I'm sure there are other pro soccer fields around the country that would be similar but in better markets than Frisco.

Just my opinion but I think getting the best venue, in the best city, for the most money is more important than who's stadium it is. Why would you limit your options that way?

 

[Adunk33]

It's better to play at a soccer stadium in a place called Frisco?

I think the soccer stadium is better because it's only American football identity is the FCS Championship. I'm all for it moving, but not to an FBS Stadium. I'm sure there are other pro soccer fields around the country that would be similar but in better markets than Frisco.

Just my opinion but I think getting the best venue, in the best city, for the most money is more important than who's stadium it is. Why would you limit your options that way?

Fair assessment. I'm probably just suffering from "little brother syndrome." I don't need the Power football fans I talk to thinking less of the FCS than they already do. But then again, their opinions will never change, so screw em.

 

[fourthandshort]

Don’t forget the Frisco Bowl!

Is that like a Frisco Melt but it's in a bowl? Cause I love a good Frisco Melt.

Not even close .. the bowl comes with rice .. totally different.

 

[TIMMY]

Don’t forget the Frisco Bowl!

Is that like a Frisco Melt but it's in a bowl? Cause I love a good Frisco Melt.

Not even close .. the bowl comes with rice .. totally different.

Hmmmm :think:

 

[Birdswin]

I could care less about empty seats - makes zero difference to me. I look at the problems with ticket availability - that is a MUCH bigger problem. Take that out of the equation. Then second is playing surface - the field in Frisco is terrible for football. It has far to much of a sandy base - that is why huge chucks of turf come and make ruts. Soccer players are much, much different than lineman, linebackers and running backs on a field. Third, is the weather - once again, the dome takes that out of the equation.

 

[Chi-bird]

I could care less about empty seats - makes zero difference to me. I look at the problems with ticket availability - that is a MUCH bigger problem. Take that out of the equation. Then second is playing surface - the field in Frisco is terrible for football. It has far to much of a sandy base - that is why huge chucks of turf come and make ruts. Soccer players are much, much different than lineman, linebackers and running backs on a field. Third, is the weather - once again, the dome takes that out of the equation.

I have to disagree.....scores of empty seats suck. Makes for a watered-down atmosphere, which is why many (myself included) go to the game. Take away atmosphere and what is left as a reason to go vs watching on tv?

 

[JHBird]

I could care less about empty seats - makes zero difference to me. I look at the problems with ticket availability - that is a MUCH bigger problem. Take that out of the equation. Then second is playing surface - the field in Frisco is terrible for football. It has far to much of a sandy base - that is why huge chucks of turf come and make ruts. Soccer players are much, much different than lineman, linebackers and running backs on a field. Third, is the weather - once again, the dome takes that out of the equation.

I have to disagree.....scores of empty seats suck. Makes for a watered-down atmosphere, which is why many (myself included) go to the game. Take away atmosphere and what is left as a reason to go vs watching on tv?

I agree. That's why Major Soccer League builds those places like Frisco, or Toyota park in Chicago. They didn't want teams playing in huge vacant stadiums like Soldier field or Cowboys stadium. It's better to see a packed stadium with 20,000 fans versus 30,000 fans in a mostly vacant NFL stadium. There's a lot of psychology to it, cause logically it doesn't make sense. For Arch Madness last year they put drapes over the entire empty upper bowl. That helped the atmosphere imo.

 

[bb fan]

I think Frisco is the perfect size and type of venue for the FCS championship game. It's packed and noisy, not a bad seat in the house. I would be ok, though, if it moved around every couple of years to similar venues, probably in warmer weather areas.

 

[fourthandshort]

agree with how JHBIrd put it ... game day atmosphere makes a big difference .. venue should be big enough but not too big. Everyone involved benefits from right-sized venue .. from the game's sponsors to the fans and the players. Plus the economics have to make sense .. and certainly weather plays a part in the economics, even if an indoor venue. The sponsor will want to pick a spot they can afford and has enough drawing power to help them get as much return on their investment as they can. Right now, FCS Natty depends very heavily on fact that Bison win and travel very well. I don't think anyone comes close to Bison in fan travel .. even the ones that draw similar 18 to 20k at home like Bison.

As for indoor vs outdoor ... I much prefer outdoors, but will compromise there. But for playoffs, weather still impacts peoples inclination to travel somewhere to watch a game, even if indoor. because many will want to make a trip of it and so weather and other stuff to do will matter to many of the more casual fans.

 

[Adunk33]

For Arch Madness last year they put drapes over the entire empty upper bowl. That helped the atmosphere imo.

:text-+1:

I was originally bummed that it was their first season curtaining off the upper bowl, but it did help the atmosphere. It was pretty great for our games against INST and SIU. Not so much for Loyola, but that had nothing to do with seating.

 

[bb fan]

What helps Scottrade (I know it has a different name now, whatever it is) is that the upper bowl is very high up there, and a smaller percentage of the overall seating. Most other venues are 50/50, or even the upper bowl is actually bigger in some places. So it really was not very noticeable, which was good. Having said that, did anyone else notice on Saturday they actually opened up part of the upper bowl center court across from the cameras? I did. I was pleasantly surprised the that tourney still seemed very good and festive.

 

[fourthandshort]

Is that like a Frisco Melt but it's in a bowl? Cause I love a good Frisco Melt.

Not even close .. the bowl comes with rice .. totally different.

Hmmmm :think:

But I'll take Frisco anyway I can get it !!!

 

[TheTruth]

Its a bad look for the FCS' "end of season goal" to play at an FBS Stadium.

As opposed to a soccer stadium? NOLA makes too much sense, so it will probably never happen.

 

[bb fan]

I don't think it matters at all if the venue is an FBS stadium or not -- as long as they pay and the place is the right size and location. Nobody really knows, or cares the difference. I like NOLA in the rotation.

 

[StLRedbird]

Looks like StL is gonna get one of the next two MLS teams. Private funding for Downtown stadium next to Union Station is in place. Iirc, it’ll seat 22k.

And worries about snow in StL? 4 in of snow shuts this place down. Why? Little snow removal equipment because it’s not needed.

 

[jbird]

I recommend that everyone have a brother and sister-in-law who live in Frisco; eliminates costs of lodging. Stadium in Frisco is right size for championship game. I also think that our Texas recruiting has gone up since our appearance in Frisco;there, and Florida, are good places to draw recruiting attention. Years ago, the championship game was in Chattanooga; I wonder what factors the NCAA used back then to explain the move to Frisco.

If wanting to cut down on expenses and eliminate weather as a game factor, why not the FargoDome?

 

[salsa]

I recommend that everyone have a brother and sister-in-law who live in Frisco; eliminates costs of lodging. Stadium in Frisco is right size for championship game. I also think that our Texas recruiting has gone up since our appearance in Frisco;there, and Florida, are good places to draw recruiting attention. Years ago, the championship game was in Chattanooga; I wonder what factors the NCAA used back then to explain the move to Frisco.

If wanting to cut down on expenses and eliminate weather as a game factor, why not the FargoDome?

They put it up for bid and Frisco submitted the best bid. This isn't a situation where the NCAA says, "I want to have the championship in NOLA." And then reserves stadiums and hotels. They put out requests for bids and pick the best option based on submitted bids. Host cities do a lot of the planning. The NCAA mostly just picks the teams that make the playoffs and then it plays out from there.

The proposals determine how many tickets the host committee is on the hook for and how many the NCAA is on the hook for. That's what determines how many are in the school allotment and how many are sold in presales. The NCAA is only on the hook for the allotments (and those are ultimately purchased by the participating schools). They help the host committee by facilitating the presales. The NCAA is paid something regardless of whether those tickets are sold. The ratio is determined by the host committee proposal.

All the locations being discussed here are great suggestions. We have no idea if those places are interested in hosting and have submitted competitive bids to do it.

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[Reggie Redbird]

It just depends on who submits a bid. D2 is now in Kansas City and D3 will be in Canton, Ohio in a couple years. Not exactly warm weather states.

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Yes, but I assume the bid will reflect their ability to support the bid with how much game stands to draw relative to travel budgets available. So I'm thinking the economics and logistics of that bid decicion change as you move up or down in divisions. I'm guessing the travel allowance i(air & hotel) is smaller as you move down in divisions and the venue reflects that bid decision. Cooler weather cities will have cheaper flights and hotel rates in 1st wek of January.

People keep saying they should go to city A or city B as if the NCAA just picks a place and goes there. They have to get bids from places that want to host it. These championships are not huge monkey makers for most cities so an Orlando or Vegas probably has it pretty low on their interest scale. Frisco and Canton and Kansas City are likely more interested because it works better for them. St. Louis could be interested because they have a facility with no football team (although it could be busy with other events).

The other point is people were saying they wouldn't pick cold weather cities, but that's not true. Those cities gave compelling bids (and maybe the only bids) add were selected on a variety of criteria. Cheap airfare likely was not one of them because Cleveland and KC are not cheap cities any time of year.

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Vegas has the capacity to host thousands and thousands of people and still keep rooms cheap and flights cheap. That would be a great option to making it affordable, but I can't see the NCAA wanting to have the game there. They do host the Las Vegas Bowl and some conferences host their MBB championships, but I just can't see the NCAA wanting to have more postseason events there. Many conferences, organizations, trade shows, etc. are moving to Vegas. I guess the folks from Fargo can drive southwest, just as easily as they can drive south.

I personally would love the FCS game in StL for selfish reasons of how easy it would be for us to travel there. If they really wanted it outdoors in StL, they could convert Busch Stadium like they did for SIU-SEMO. I'm guessing there would have to be a lot of upgrades necessary to get the Edward Jones Dome ready for a FB game again.

I see Frisco continuing to host past 2021 unless an area - Nashville? - steps up with a much bigger bid. Perhaps Frisco needs to work out a better shuttle system to get people from hotels to the field and back.

 

[fourthandshort]

By the way, I would fully assume that NCAA has marketing people trying to identify more optimal host cities for various playoff events. They would be stupid if they didn't take a proactive interest in convincing prospective host cities and venues. They do this for a living and stand to benefit from better venues and more stability so they don't have to worry about accepting a bid from someone who can't deliver on a venue. They have to make sure the prospective hosts know what they are doing. So the idea that NCAA sits back passively in this regard, and simply waits for the best bid ... makes no sense to me. The bid MUST be evaluated. No different than olympics, just much smaller scale ... and far less corrupt.

if they don't do this ... yeesh.