by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The City will find out late this summer whether to expect a second dose of March Madness.
Mike Sullivan, director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission’s Sports and Entertainment Division, said Jacksonville should know in a matter of months whether the NCAA basketball tournament will return. The soonest Jacksonville could expect a return is 2009. After that Jacksonville could enter a rotation hosting the tournament every third year.
Just because Jacksonville got the games once doesn’t necessarily mean the City will get a return visit. Sullivan said “past history is not a major factor” in the NCAA Tournament Committee’s decisions on game sites.
However, a committee member who attended early round games at Jacksonville’s Veteran’s Memorial Arena March 16-18 told Sullivan that the City represented itself well. Sold out games and ample parking left a particularly good impression, said Sullivan.
“The member of the committee that was down here had a very positive experience,” said Sullivan.
The JEDC is waiting for the NCAA’s decision on the men’s tournament before chasing the women’s tournament. Ron Salem, chair of the Sports and Entertainment Board, said pursuing the men’s and women’s tournaments could send mixed messages to the NCAA committee.
Salem feared that going after the women’s tournament could hurt the City’s chances of hosting the men, who draw more fans and television viewers.
“I worry that we might hurt ourselves by going after two things,” said Salem. “Let’s find out about the men’s tournament first.”
Several board members wondered whether the women’s tournament was even worth pursuing. Sullivan said he watched early round games and saw “very sparse crowds.”
But board member Chris Burns said interest in the women’s game is growing.
Jacksonville’s success hosting the NCAA games might help the City’s efforts to put together a Gator Bowl basketball tournament to complement the New Year’s Day football bowl game.
The JEDC wants to bring basketball teams from the Atlantic Coast and Big East conferences to face Jacksonville University and the University of North Florida in a basketball exhibition leading up to the bowl game. The bowl also pairs teams from the ACC and Big East or Notre Dame. In coming years, the Big 12 (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, etc.) will figure into the mix.
Sullivan said the window is closing to line up teams in time for this year’s Gator Bowl. The hold up so far has been over the teams’ appearance fees. The teams that would attract the most fans also cost the most money.
“I’ve been told that Syracuse makes $500,000 playing a home game, so there’s going to be some difficulty trying to convince them to come here to play for less,” said Sullivan.
That’s too much money for the City. But Sullivan said mid-tier teams from the conferences might be convinced to play for less.