Top 5: Options for the Pac-12 championship game location
by GoCougs on Jul 3, 2010 1:18 PM PDT
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PrintBrian's edit: Bumped for thoughtful discussion. We've looked at everything else about expansion, so we might as well look at this.
I, like every other Pac-10 fan, have my doubts about expansion. One of the things that brings me around is the idea of a conference championship. Championship games bring much needed hype, excitement, and most importantly money, to what has occasionally been dominated with the forgone conclusion that one team in particular would take it all.
Sure, there are a lot of things that have to be considered in this process, but I wanted to take some time to look at one thing in particular: Location.
Taking a look at the 3 other BCS conference championships, they are all played in NFL stadiums, with two exceptions: The SEC championship was played in Birmingham in '92 and '93 and the Big 12 title game was played in the Alamo Dome in '97, '99, and 2007. So I limited my choices to NFL stadiums. This puts the Pac-12 in a unique position. The largest city in the Pac-12 doesn't have an NFL facility. So, Let's take a look at the Top Five Choices.
5 - San Fransisco's Candlestick Park - Hosts: California and Stanford
The most historic of choices on the list is Candlestick park. The former home of the giants and current home of the 49ers was built in 1960.
Pros: History - This place is where history is made. Opened in 1960 as the home of the San Francisco Giants, later it would become home to the NFL's 49ers. "The Stick" hosted 2 MLB all-star games, 2 world series' (Including one of the more memorable moments in world series history in 1989 after the 7.1 Loma Prieta earthquake), 6 NFC championship games (Including a moment between Dwight Clark and Joe Montana simply known as "The Catch"), and was home to The final concert that the Beatles ever gave. Plus, it was home to football greats like Joe Montana, Bill Walsh, and so many more.
Cons: Age - One man's history is another man's "a lousy stadium" in "terrible disrepair" (The other man being San Francisco's own Mayor). It's no secret that CandleStick is old, after all, that's why the Giants left 9 years ago for beautiful Pac-Bell/SBC/ATT Park. The 49ers are seeking a new palace in Santa Clara that's set to break ground in 2012. It's been through a lot, but it's really showing it's age.
Weather - Candlestick has a bad reputation for bad weather of all kinds, namely fog, cold and severe wind. The story goes that wind coming from The Pacific hits a hill a few hundred feet from the park. The wind hits the park, meets with wind coming from the other direction and creates a very cold night for fans in the park. The cold conditions in the Summer are what caused the Giants to move, imagine the wind in mid-December.
4- Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High - Host: Colorado
Pros: Denver - Denver is a very underrated city. It has great culture and Mile High Stadium is a great facility. It's one of the newer stadiums in the NFL (Opened in 2001), and from what I have seen, it's a very nice place to play and watch a football game.
Cons: Damn it's cold! - Pop Quiz: the average December temperature in Denver? It's 31 degrees. To compare, in LA, the average temperature in December is nearly double that. Yeah, that 31 isn't the best, but the NFL just gave a Super Bowl to New Jersey (Average Feb Temperature is also 31) so nothing is impossible.
3- San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium - Host: USC and UCLA
Pros: Weather - Who doesn't love the weather in San Diego? I think that I read somewhere that it has never been below 80 degrees in that city, but I could be wrong. The city is beautiful. What normal 18-22 year old male football player would not jump at the chance to head to San Diego any time of the year... Come to think of it, maybe this is a negative. I think coaches might rather go to Denver...
Cons: Stadium - Another Old West Coast Stadium, another team having difficulty finding a new place to play. I'm seeing a trend. Qualcomm was built in 1967 and the concourses are very tight. While it does seat 72,000, they are crammed in there shoulder to shoulder, especially on those concourses.
It is also unclear who would host it. While "The Q" isn't really close to any school (It's about 2 Hours away from either LA school), it is the closest NFL Stadium to the LA Metro Area.
2- Seattle's Qwest Field - Hosts: Washington and Washington State
Pros: Facilities - Now, obviously, this is the hands down favorite for all of us Cougs (And Huskies, and Beavers, and Ducks) and it is one of the nicer experiences in the NFL. Opened in 2002, it is regarded by many as one of the loudest stadiums, a great experience for any big game, whether it's NFL, MLS, or the Pac-12 Championship game. It is also surrounded by many great places to hold events leading up to big game.
Cons: Seattle - I love Seattle. In nice weather, it is one of the most beautiful cities in America. But let's face it, in Seattle in mid-December, Seattle will more than likely live up to it's hype, Thus, cutting down on some of the activities the Pac-12 will want to plan around the game.
Qwest Field is also the closest stadium to a member school. It is a little over 10 minutes away (Without Traffic) from The University of Washington, By far the closest stadium on the list to any other school (Second being Stanford and ASU which are each about 30 minutes from Candlestick and University of Phoenix, respectively). The Huskies are a team on the rise and in a couple more years a championship game at qwest may very well be a home game for UW.
1- Glendale's University of Phoenix Stadium - Hosts: Arizona and Arizona State
Pros: New Stadium Smell - This is the third newest stadium in Pro Football (Not counting Meadowlands) and it's really cool. It has a retractable roof, grass on rollers, and it's shaped like a curled up rattlesnake. It might be one of the coolest stadiums in sports. It's already hosted Fiesta Bowls, A BCS National Championship, A Super Bowl and, Most Importantly, Last year's Wrestlemania. The place was made for big events like a conference championship game.
Cons: Isolation - It's not that big of a deal, but it is in a sports complex that feels a little out of the way from Downtown Glendale. It wasn't a problem for the Ncaa before (Or the NFL, or Professional Wrestling) so, it probably won't be for the Pac-10.
Honorable Mentions
LA Coliseum/Rose Bowl - We all know how much the Pac loves LA ("Hey, let's have the Basketball Tourney at Staples Every Year!), but I just don't see how playing a championship game at a home site will work, especially a home site for a (former) powerhouse like USC. But, revenue wise, you just can't beat a nearly 100,000 seat venue in the heart of America's second biggest city.
ATT Park - A better option visually (Can't beat that view), but all in all it's a baseball stadium they happen to play football in once a year. Not going to cut it for a football title game.
There you have it, my top 5 locations for a Pac-12 Championship game. Did I leave anything off or get them in the wrong order? Go ahead an make your own list and tell me how I'm wrong in every way.
This FanPost does not necessarily reflect the views of the site's writers or editors, who may not have verified its accuracy. It does, however, reflect the views of this particular fan, which is just as important as the views of our writers or editors.
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I agree on everything.
Too bad Seattle doesn’t have the greatest mid-December weather, because I like Qwest more than UPS.
-Brett Gleason
-Daily Evergreen Staff Sports Writer
Sandy's Rio Tinto Stadium - Host: Utah
Pros: Utah gets to feel important before being brought down to earth after years of softball conference foes
Cons: Only seats 20,000, and it’s in Sandy, Utah. Playing surface is not actually big enough to fit the field and benches along with media required for the game. Pop Quiz – What is the average December temperature in Sandy, Utah? Answer – Goddamn cold.
by B Money on Jun 30, 2010 6:19 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
One of the better names in the US
my two favorites
Boring, OR (most descriptive)
Furport, WA (most awesome)
Sandy, Utah - where you can't find an ounce of sand.
I think it’s named after some type of dirt, tho. It’s a suburb of Salt Lake and about 20 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City.
It’s Utah’s fifth largest city with a population of about 100,000.
I think
that there’s a good chance we see an every other year rotation between Phoenix and Seattle. I definitely think that CCG location is one of the things that is on the table when talking about everything that will happen in the Pac-12 (assuming Pac-16 isn’t happening anytime soon), and this seems like a pretty good compromise solution to me, especially if the NW schools don’t get the upper end of a lot of the other decisions that get made.
I'd be shocked if it doesn't go to LA at all
There is too much money and too many people to leave them out of a rotation…and that’s assuming that it doesn’t go there every year.
I’d like to see a PHO, SEA, DEN, LA, SF rotation. It’s an excuse for a road trip, and realistically any one of those places is going to be a virtual home game for one of the local teams. It’s a fair way to let everybody get in on the action.
by B Money on Jun 30, 2010 9:31 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Seattle and Denver are probably out
The cold weather argument. Playing a game in Denver in a foot of snow, while fun to play in, probably won’t do much for revenue or interest.
by Brian Floyd on Jun 30, 2010 10:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Bay Area would probably be out as well...
it’s foggy and rainy and gross on the bay there in the winter, a little bit like Seattle, but 10 degress warmer.
Phoenix and LA are the only good weather options. Maybe San Deigo, but I’d rather see it be in LA in a historic stadium with college football fans filling it up.
I hope they rotate it, since if USC/UCLA aren’t playing, they’re gonna have a lame half full stadium on their hands. If it does stick down south, I pray for a WSU/OSU championship game, and the 15,000 fans it’ll bring in. No offense intended, but I think you get my point.
Yeah, I definitely agree
We’re kind of screwed either way with championship sites. If it sticks in LA/AZ, there may be fan apathy if it is two teams like OS/WSU. If we get bad weather, the revenue takes a hit.
Basically, I’m just wishing for a high revenue game. If we can market this sucker right, it has a chance to sell out and bring in a ton of money.
by Brian Floyd on Jun 30, 2010 11:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd imagine it won't get stale if they rotate it to at least 4 spots
I don’t see why all these NFL stadiums can sellout a Sunday, but a lone Saturday in December featuring the pinnacle of Western College Football wouldn’t draw.
Even if Seattle’s not included, just get it out of LA every year. If UW made it there I would hope to hell the won while I watched it on TV. I’d travel to the Rose Bowl…but LA twice in one year…not for me.
denver
is almost definitely out, even as part of a rotation; the prospect of playing in snow would be fine for the Big Ten and somehow was fine for the Big 12 for a while, but the Pac-10 is NOT a cold-weather league, and neither would be the Pac-12. Seattle wouldn’t be ideal, but would be much less unpleasant than Denver IMO.
I agree that Phoenix makes the most sense in isolation, but I think at some point you have to throw the NW a bone in the process. The Pac-12 will never get to Big 12-type “we do whatever the big dog (TX) wants in every single way” level, of course, but I think that it makes sense to try to spread the wealth in a reasonable way.
Or maybe
We could be men about it and actually play a good football game in real football weather…. At least every once in a while.
I think your right though, the games will be much better attended in LA and pheonix than in a city like denver. But as you also said, the nothern schools shouldn’t agree to having to travel for the conference champion ship every year. Quest field is a great venue and would serve well to advertise that the Pac-10 really is the conference of all the major western states (and not just California).
In the end, I hope we end up with a Seattle, San Diego, Denver, Pheonix rotation. that way we cover 4 of the 6 states in the conference in a way that makes sense to the average fan and allows us to exploit most of the large markets in the Pac 10.
By the way. A lot of the critics to the invitation of Colorado made the point that Denver is a Pro town. What better way to inspire Denver to buy in to the Pac-10 than letting them host a Championship Game between two big name schools?
As a side note, they said the same about Salt Lake (minus the pro team). But I think that situation will handle itself. “Wait what?! We have a team thats playing in a BCS Conference?!? And we get to watch them play USC every year?!?… BY-who?”
I'd bet it has more to do with Denver's "Pro Sports" reputation than weather...
They sell out late season Bronco games in the very same stadium, I don’t see why they couldn’t do it for the Pac-10 title. We have to realize that alot of the fans in these venues are going to be locals, unless we expect each team to travel 30,000+ fans. Which while doable, isn’t likely.
Seattle is a fairly solid college metropolis. Denver not so much. LA, PHO, and SEA would make a good rotation that would only leave Denver and SLC out. I’d like to see Denver in the rotation personally. Maybe if some of the cheese eating hippy Pac-10 fans grow a pair, Denver will be a viable option.
CUSA really didn't have a bad idea....
… in playing their championship game at the home stadium of the team with the best record. You’re not the SEC, where Atlanta was driveable for just about everyone, or the Big Ten, where Indy is, or the ACC, where pretty much any city in NC is (but they’ve played the game in Tampa or Jax anyway); fans of at least one team are going to have to fly to get there.
That might be ok
But in the interest of selling the pac-10 as the premier national conference, and easily generate national interest, I think its better host it in pre-determined, nationaly recognized locations. Plus its in the best interest of the host city to give them time to prepare and advertise the event. If we are going to host a championship game, why not make it huge? We want to eclipse any other conference championship in the nation. Theres no reason this game shouldn’t draw as much attention as the Rose Bowl (especially in years where the winner goes to the national championship and the looser is smelling roses)
It's also about money
and not many corporations are gonna sponsor the “PAC-12 championship extravaganza!” when it’s being held in 35k seat Martin Stadium (no offense) or 45k seat Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Vegas Baby
Not really a suitable stadium there now, but with the money in that town it could happen. Ink a deal with Las Vegas (some casino owners) to host the game for 10-15 years and they just might build it. Either that or have UNLV upgrade their stadium. Both would have incentive to make a large stadium, UNLV in hopes of moving up the college football ladder and Las Vegas in wanting an NFL franchise or a bowl game.
It would be perfect, centrally located, easy to get to, desirable location, good weather.
They were talking about building a big ass open air stadium to house a potential Paccquiao v. Mayweather fight.
Maybe the Pac-10 could get in on this deal and make it a permanant areana. I heard they were aiming for 50,000+ capacity, bumping that for a Pac-10 title might be something that’s doable to the casino mobs.
Slot Machines in the Stadium.
What else would Las Vegas do?
by well you win some and lose others on Jul 28, 2010 8:20 PM PDT up reply actions
How about the idea of every odd year held in LA/Rose Bowl?
and on even years rotated to the other stadiums?
Still gives LA a huge advantage
they already have two teams in the metro area. Why give them that big of an advantage when the other schools can hold their own and demand a fair rotation.?
There are issues with LA, but...
… it’s reasonably driveable (<8 hours according to Mapquest) from half of the cities in the conference, which no other major city is (which is a big issue for the championship game, because you probably won’t know for sure if your team is in it until the week before; two weeks at best). And it’s the only city where pretty much everyone has a substantial base of local fans. So if you’re going with a fixed location, it almost has to be LA, especially if they ever get a new stadium built.
If it's a fixed location it'll be LA for sure
but I in no way shape or form want any kind of fixed location game.
After awhile it’ll become stale, much like the Pac-10 tourney. I can’t imagine it selling out unless USC or UCLA is in that game every year.
Contrary to popular opinion from people who live in L.A.
Not everyone in the country pines to visit/move to L.A. I, personally, can’t stand the place.
SoCal (minus SD) is terrible
It took my wife 3 years now to convince me to go down there to meet some of her family.
Thank you
Yes, I am nice. : )
Unfortunately SD has 2 bowl games already; not sure they want a 3rd, since it’d only be a week or 2 before the Poinsettia.
LA’s OK if you fly in/out of John Wayne & stay south; it’s not like you have to stay by the coliseum… A nice Coug weekend in Huntington beach could be “nice”.
I Hate LA
It’s bad enough our conference basketball tournament is in LA every year. I would hate to have our conference football title game in LA every year as well. How should the LA schools have home field advantage every thing every year?
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