Buffalo doesn't care about college basketball?
Balderdash! They're just not buying into mediocre basketball.
Given them a good team to root for and the FNC will rock!
HSBC/FNC attendance:16,279, 12/7/91, Duke v Canisius
14,823, 11/25/06, Canisius vs. Syracuse
12,508, 11/30/96, Canisius vs. St. Bona, DH with NU v Buffalo
10,128, 12/10/96, Buffalo vs. Syracuse
10,083, 12/10/97, Canisius vs. Kentucky
9,555,11/27/04, Canisius vs. St. Bona, DH with Buffalo vs. Indiana St.
9,452, 3/1/97, Canisius vs. Siena, DH with Niagara vs. Loyola
8,779, 12/7/96, Canisius vs. Niagara, DH with Buffalo vs. St. Bona
8,401, 3/3/97, Canisius vs. Fairfield
Mar 26, 2014
Buffalo receives strong feedback as NCAA hoops hostJames Fink
Buffalo Business First Reporter-Business First
www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/news/2014/03/26/buffalo-receives-strong-feedback-as-ncaa-hoops.html?page=allFrom both a financial and marketing standpoint, Buffalo reaped a lot of rewards in hosting the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last weekend.
Patrick Kaler, Visit Buffalo Niagarapresident and CEO, confirmed that the tournament filled virtually every downtown hotel room, packed restaurants and left behind an economic impact that will top $5.2 million.
More importantly, the positive experience will pave the way for future amateur sports booking that Visit Buffalo Niagara is targeting including bringing the U.S. Speed Skating Short Course finals to either First Niagara Center or the HarborCenter.
Buffalo has hosted the men’s basketball regional finals five times since First Niagara Center and lessons learned made for last weekend’s to be the smoothest. Of the eight regional final host sites, Buffalo had one of the largest arenas and the only one to be completely sold out. In some instances, before the March 22 Syracuse-Dayton game, scalpers along Washington Street were getting $400 a ticket from die-hard Orange fans desperate to see the contest.
Kaler said Buffalo will be making a bid for future NCAA men’s basketball games, with bidding expected to take place this fall for the 2017-2019 tournament sites.
“From what we are told, the NCAA uses Buffalo as a model for how to host games,” Kaler told members of the Buffalo PlaceInc. board of directors.
Buffalo and the NCAA have a lengthy history of working together on major sporting events. The region hosting the 2003 Frozen Four men’s hockey finals, which also sold out the downtown Buffalo arena. Major track and field finals have been held at the University at Buffalo.
Visit Buffalo Niagara has worked with other amateur sporting groups including USA Hockeyand various swimming groups.
Landing more sporting events is a major part of a new, five-year strategic plan Visit Buffalo Niagara is crafting and should be ready later this summer. The tourism and convention marketing bureau will be exploring other avenues for attracting more visitors to the region including revamping its web site and reaching out to groups it may have overlooked.
“We don’t want to be reacting,” Kaler said. “We want to look deep into the crystal ball and looking further in advance.”