Big 12 Baseball Tournament to stay in OKC through 2014

[soonerfan_in_okc]

After successfully hosting the Big 12 basketball tourney twice and that being a huge event for us twice I think it is such a shame that we have lost that event for good.

agreed. While NCAA first and second round games are fun to host, the big 12 tourney seems like it has the cities attention more. I hope their decision though was based on what KC has done, not what we HAVEN'T done.

[Spartan]

When you compare the two OKC and KC were equally good as host cities. There wasn't anywhere that we failed really. No city has enough DOWNTOWN hotel rooms for a huge bball tourney, honestly, so that's a moot point.

[betts]

agreed. While NCAA first and second round games are fun to host, the big 12 tourney seems like it has the cities attention more. I hope their decision though was based on what KC has done, not what we HAVEN'T done.

I suspect it's a north-middle-south thing. The gave an event to a team from each area. Since it's so much more practical to have the football game in a warmer climate(and potential to enclose the stadium), I'm sure they felt they had to compensate Kansas City for losing the Big Twelve football championship by giving them the basketball games. Then, OKC is actually the most convenient city for the Big Twelve so we get one as well.

[Spartan]

All sports are not created equal.

Football -> Basketball ---------------------------------> Baseball --------> Anything else.

[Oil Capital]

When you compare the two OKC and KC were equally good as host cities. There wasn't anywhere that we failed really. No city has enough DOWNTOWN hotel rooms for a huge bball tourney, honestly, so that's a moot point.

That's an odd statement coming from you, when, less than a month ago you told us this:

"Chance (of OKC losing the Big Twelve baseball tournament) is good. OKC rested on its laurels with the Big 12 events and we're about to lose both the baseball and basketball tournaments. I heard NCAA tourney had a bad experience in OKC this year."

[betts]

I don't think it matters how equal they are or aren't considered. I think the appeal of having the football championship game in a warm climate outweighed any desire to be "fair" to the north. Having gone to Kansas City for the Big Twelve championship game on occasion, I would have to agree. It was miserable going to a game in freezing weather in an outdoor stadium. I'm not sure I remember being colder. So, they had to compensate Kansas City (and the entire north half of the big twelve) for losing the championship game of agreeably, the "biggest" sport and the fact that they have to travel to Dallas every year for the game. Kansas is obviously the biggest basketball school and so a great way to compensate them was to give them a tournament they had traditionally hosted. We've got the facilities for baseball and have traditionally hosted that tournament, so we got baseball. I think it had a lot less to do with Oklahoma City sitting on its laurels than the fact that the Big Twelve wanted Dallas to have the football game.

I'm not sure all this matters much anymore, as there may be no Big Twelve in a few years. Then the biggest problem will be that regardless of whether OU and OSU are part of the Pac-16 or the SEC, we'll be the most remote team in the conference and will have no weather advantage over any of the other teams.

[Spartan]

Yeah, I know it makes sense for everyone involved it's just unfortunate. I wanted OKC to be able to hold onto that awesome event. It had so much potential to grow into something big, like giving OKC experience that it could build on to possibly compete for a Final Four.

[ljbab728]

Yeah, I know it makes sense for everyone involved it's just unfortunate. I wanted OKC to be able to hold onto that awesome event. It had so much potential to grow into something big, like giving OKC experience that it could build on to possibly compete for a Final Four.

Unfortunately, unless OKC builds a domed football stadium, we'll never have a final four. That is currently a requirement to be considered.

[betts]

I loved having the basketball tournaments here. I pretty much took that week off and spent my entire day watching men's and women's hoops. So, I'm not happy we didn't get them, but I understand that we lose out primarily because the Big Twelve is tired of the football game in Kansas City and wants to keep it in Dallas. I honestly think it had nothing to do with the conference's experience in OKC. We were great hosts and people loved having the mens and womens games across the street from each other, as well as proximity to Bricktown.

[ljbab728]

I loved having the basketball tournaments here. I pretty much took that week off and spent my entire day watching men's and women's hoops. So, I'm not happy we didn't get them, but I understand that we lose out primarily because the Big Twelve is tired of the football game in Kansas City and wants to keep it in Dallas. I honestly think it had nothing to do with the conference's experience in OKC. We were great hosts and people loved having the mens and womens games across the street from each other, as well as proximity to Bricktown.

Yes, sometimes no matter how much your sweetheart loves you, they end up marrying someone else.

[Spartan]

Basketball tourney has broken our hearts.

[HOT ROD]

Since there is no hope for the Big XII tournament for several more years and an even more unlikely scenario where the Pac-16 would consider OKC, it may be time to re-think the need for the Cox Center, especially after the Ford Center renovations are complete and we build the new convention center.

The Cox is a huge dark spot in the middle of downtown, offering completely dead frontage on all sides -- including the Myriad Gardens.

It may be time to consider pulling it down in favor of expanding the CBD to the south and better tying it into the Myriad Gardens and the new areas to be developed as part of C2S.

I have mentioned this before Pete, only to be 'silenced' by those more opinionated on the forum.

[Spartan]

Well, Hot Rod, that was back when the Big 12 basketball tourney looked like something we had a shot at every other year or so. I know you recognize that changes things quite a bit.

[Kerry]

We could do like Tulsa did and put in a bid to host their tournaments?

Tulsa wants to host the big 12 events, Okc could host some conf USA events.

The problem is that there isn't any interest in Conference USA in OKC. There are more Big XII fans in Tulsa than there are TU fans in OKC. Now maybe if OSU was in Conference USA you would have a good point.