Marquee MBB games moved away from Sun Dome?

[GarySJ]

Surprisingly little discussion of this topic...

Downtown May Come Into Play

BRETT MCMURPHY

Published: Apr 21, 2005

TAMPA - South Florida and St. Pete Times Forum officials have had several discussions about moving "multiple'' men's basketball games from the Sun Dome to downtown Tampa for the 2005-06 season.

"It's now in the exploratory phase,'' Forum spokesman Bill Wickett said. "We're seeing what works for both sides.''

Wickett said the Forum would seek to host multiple USF men's basketball games. He added they are interested mainly in Big East games, but wouldn't limit discussions to only conference games.

"We're trying to see if a business plan would make sense to play down there,'' USF athletic director Doug Woolard said. "The opportunity is there to get some presence downtown and connect with the downtown community. That's what we're looking at.''

There already are tentative plans for the Forum to host a USF men's and women's basketball doubleheader Dec. 10 with USF's women playing NCAA runner-up Michigan State followed by the USF men against Michigan.

The biggest sticking point could be the Forum's availability, since USF's home Big East schedule won't be known for several months.

Neither side has discussed specific games, but obviously the Forum would be most interested in USF's marquee league opponents, such as Louisville, Cincinnati, Syracuse and Connecticut. None of those schools, however, are guaranteed to play at USF this season.

USF men's basketball coach Robert McCullum could not be reached for comment.

With the Bulls having trouble filling the 10,411-seat Sun Dome, it's debatable if USF would draw bigger crowds at the 21,000-seat Forum.

Also, USF has been trying to sell naming rights to the Sun Dome for several years. What potential buyer wants its name on an arena that wouldn't host all of USF's games?

Of course, USF's students have consistently failed to support the Bulls at the Sun Dome. So maybe a venue closer to Ybor City's nightlife would be more appealing?

"We have the opportunity to have some games there,'' Woolard said. "A lot of it will be based on what kind of building availability there is.''

Wickett added Lightning and Forum president Ron Campbell believes "we can create a win-win situation for both us and USF.''

Do you want to see Michigan, UConn, Notre Dame, etc moved out of the Sun Dome and downtown? Discuss.

[Velcro]

I'd prefer the dome, but if they do move them, i better get some **** good seats, as I love my current one... and parking better be taken care of by the normal pass ;D

[79 Bull]

Why upgrade the dome if you are going to play the games that have a potential to sell out at another venue?  The dome is a way better atmosphere for college ball than a cavernous pro arena.

It's crazy we have all these discussions about the advantages of an on-campus stadium and then there is a chance of moving basketball games off campus.

[GarySJ]

It's crazy we have all these discussions about the advantages of an on-campus stadium and then there is a chance of moving basketball games off campus.

Now that is a great point.

[sdgukhsdgl]

why split money with someone else on the games that are going to bring you the most money?  this is stupid

[WoolyBully]

"We're trying to see if a business plan would make sense to play down there,'' USF athletic director Doug Woolard said. "The opportunity is there to get some presence downtown and connect with the downtown community. That's what we're looking at.''

I'm guessing the general line of thinking here is that  yankee soccer may be off the slate for another year,  and the Forum is looking to do something to generate some revenue.

It also sounds like this is a huge "maybe"...no firm schedule, no guarantee that the big-draw teams will head to Tampa to begin with.

[ChiTownBull]

stay in the dome...it will be louder and more of a home field advantage.

St Johns plays a lot of BE home games at the garden and i don't think that really works to their advantage.

[84Bull]

This would not be unheard of in the Big East. I know Villanova plays a couple of games every year in the Spectrum ( or whatever its called today) in Phila.  I think we are jumping the gun to assume we are going to immediately start selling out the Sundome on a consistent basis.  

[Markeymark]

I am leaning against this idea, I would rather see them continue to invest in the Sun Dome. Maybe they should try to gauge interest the first year, and then maybe move the marquee games the year after that. It would be silly to rent out the forum and then have only 6-7000 fans show up. More than silly, it would be an embarrasment.

What is yankee soccer.

[Brad]

What is yankee soccer.

Hockey?