Championship Cities
Their sites are set
By Gary Brown
The NCAA is engaging in a pilot program that designates six cities – St. Louis; Cleveland; San Antonio; San Diego; Indianapolis; and Cary, North Carolina – as “Championship Cities” for the next three years.
The Championship City initiative is a trial balloon designed to increase the promotion of various NCAA championship events, enhance the experience for the student-athletes who participate in them, engage and support the communities that host them, and create fiscal and administrative efficiencies for those who conduct them.
The cities selected for the pilot will host a number of NCAA championship events in each division during the next four years – some that had been awarded to those cities before the new pilot program was created, but others that each city bid on during a request-for-proposal process that attracted interest from almost two dozen cities.
“The Championship City model is a multiple-event concept that will create greater community support of the events through increased attendance and an enhanced atmosphere for the student-athletes and fans, as well as operational and economic efficiencies both for the cities and the NCAA,” said NCAA President Myles Brand.
The concept is a business model that emerged from a review of championship administration with an eye toward reducing expenses, increasing revenue and enhancing the student-athlete experience. The NCAA approached about three dozen cities, 21 of which submitted bids. The six awardees have extensive experience hosting NCAA championships and were comfortable with the Championship City approach.
For the cities, beyond the economic impact of hosting NCAA championships, there is value in being able to plan that much further ahead and arrange other community events around the NCAA championships that officials can count on being there. Event planners also can leverage the package of NCAA championships to influence city leaders to devote resources to surrounding events as well.
In addition to the community engagement and enhanced student-athlete and fan experiences, the NCAA’s Joni Comstock cited the Championship City model’s efficiencies and cost savings in travel, signage and lodging through economies of scale. In many ways, in fact, the model accomplishes the goal of increasing revenue by cutting costs.
“It strengthens the NCAA brand at these venues and allows the NCAA to establish operational relationships and efficiencies,” said the NCAA’s senior vice president for championships. “The NCAA also becomes a higher priority in a city’s event planning – since city officials know the championship is occurring at a given time, they can plan other events around it.”
Depending on the success of the pilot, other cities may be added to the list.