Growing the MCLA - 2008 Championship in Boston

[Huskies16]

This is an idea to seriously bring national attention to the MCLA.

Next years NCAA finals will be held at Foxboro (Where the New England Patriots Play) between May 24-26.

In order to bring attention to the MCLA, why not host the tournament in the area the week before, with the National Championship Game at Boston University (Where the Boston Cannons Play).

This would be a tremendous event. Imagine the MCLA setting the stage for the DIII, DII and DI finals. Talk about a lacrosse week for fans!

Dan Morris, think it would be easier to organize for you?

Chatter?

[CATLAX MAN]

The West Coast is glaringly omitted in this poll. Correct answer: none of the above.

[Huskies16]

My mistake,

I meant to put a tab for San Diego / San Francisco. Please respond with that in mind. However, my point is to bring new attention to the MCLA, and doing that on the west coast wouldn't exactly do that!

[scooter]

i personally think that boston would be a great venue....it is a great city, and already has a ton of fans interested in lacrosse....not to mention there are 2+ teams from there who should make the tourny next season...

not sayin it is the only city that could host this event, but definitely should be ranked top 3 or so

[BigheadTodd]

DENVER!!!!!!
you will proably set attendance figures, regardless of who is playing. Look at what the mammoth do. Look at what the outlaws do. I would guess they would come close to selling out the final regardless of who is in it.

[CyLaxKeeper00]

fixed

[StrykerFSU]

This question has two components. First, I assumed that the MCLA Championships were played in geographically central locations so all participating teams would have relatively the same travel burden, i.e. Dallas, St. Louis, and Blaine.

If that first principle were to be set aside for the sake of growing the tournament, the MCLA as a warm up to the NCAA tournament, then it would seem to me that the only option would be the city hosting the NCAAs. In this case that's Boston. To put it on the West Coast, Denver, or any other city on this list would give some teams an advantage in terms of the cost and time required for travel to the tournament and would not provide the desired national exposure benefit to the entire league.

[John Paul]

We've discussed this option (using the NCAA host city) for years. On the surface it's an intriguing plan. Some thoughts:

1. We always try to plan at least a year and a half out for the tournament for planning reasons. We're looking at 09 options right now. 08 is in Dallas again. The only time the championship were not planned ahead more than a year was 06 in Dallas, and the event suffered.

2. We are committed, for now, to playing at facilities like Pizza Hut Park with many fields around a really good stadium field for the semis and finals. Playing at a stadium field like we did this year provided an incredible venue for the teams involved. Also, its built-in video capabilities (not just the Jumbotron, but more importantly the control room and in-house cameras) allowed us to produce and control video production much cheaper and easier. Also, having the event at one facility for the entire week makes logistics workable. Multiple facilities is not something we can handle.

3. We depend on local volunteers in a huge way. Without the incredible commitment of a local organization and volunteer group, the local CVB and sports commissions, the facilities and sponsors, we can't do the event. Identifying the groups in cities that have appropriate facilities that are willing and able to commit the hours (way more than any of us put in) and the money (a lot) to make the event work is one of the biggest hurdles.

While I agree that holding our event in the NCAA finals city could have benefits, to play devil's advocate there are potential problems as well (aside from what I mentioned already). It would be easy to lose our event in the bigger picture with local groups already investing of themselves in the NCAA event. Without a tie-in to the NCAA and/or the local planners of the NCAA event, we would not be more than a blip on the radar for the local lacrosse community at that time of year. I know the guys who've run past NCAA finals weekends and the point guy for the Boston event. The one thing in common is that they are overwhelmed with that event, especially for the weeks leading up to it.

Side note: competitive advantage has not really been a consideration for our site choices to date. They've all just happened to end up in the middle of the country. We are event-focused. If the right situation became available (ie. facilities and local organizers/volunteers), then we would consider any region of the country - even the coasts.

[StrykerFSU]

Side note: competitive advantage has not really been a consideration for our site choices to date. They've all just happened to end up in the middle of the country. We are event-focused. If the right situation became available (ie. facilities and local organizers/volunteers), then we would consider any region of the country - even the coasts.

Thanks for clarifying that.

[byualum]

I'm anxious to get my first look at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Denver tomorrow at the National Senior Showcase. Anyone else in Denver planning to attend?

[KnoxVegas]

While I agree that holding our event in the NCAA finals city could have benefits, to play devil's advocate there are potential problems as well (aside from what I mentioned already). It would be easy to lose our event in the bigger picture with local groups already investing of themselves in the NCAA event. Without a tie-in to the NCAA and/or the local planners of the NCAA event, we would not be more than a blip on the radar for the local lacrosse community at that time of year. I know the guys who've run past NCAA finals weekends and the point guy for the Boston event. The one thing in common is that they are overwhelmed with that event, especially for the weeks leading up to it.

Great point! Competition for the entertainment dollar is a huge factor. Just look at the Paralympics and the Olympics relationship.

I think that Toyota Park would be a great venue to host the MCLA [/url]tournament in Chicago. ORD is a hub to both United and American, plus Southwest has a huge presence at Midway. Most flights, if not all, would be direct. I am sure that Lacrosse America and the Chicago Machine would welcome the opportunity as well.

Toyota Park- http://www.toyotapark.com

[jessexy]

i didnt really wanna respond to this thread, but i have to now.

So what about the NCAA tourney. this has always been our league and we should respect it. no matter what anyone else says, the MCLA has always been a college lacrosse league and it will be forever into existence.

the league has shown that it can host a world class National Championship event that other NCAA sports cant claim......DO you think NCAA Equestrian or Skiing Championships are on the same level? Even Tennis or Golf or swimming? I've been to NCAA swimming championships and they are just as well run and efficient as the MCLA event that just happened in May. but i can tell you that not team decided to go home halfway through once they couldnt win the title anymore, leaving other teams stranded and searching for games.....

You all should be proud of this league because of the growth and success that it has today. You should always aspire to make it bigger, better, and stronger. but you shouldn't try to make it like other events. You should always try to make it like the MCLA National Championships and the growth with continue and the awareness will come.

[agentogden]

i didnt really wanna respond to this thread, but i have to now.

So what about the NCAA tourney. this has always been our league and we should respect it. no matter what anyone else says, the MCLA has always been a college lacrosse league and it will be forever into existence.

the league has shown that it can host a world class National Championship event that other NCAA sports cant claim......DO you think NCAA Equestrian or Skiing Championships are on the same level? Even Tennis or Golf or swimming? I've been to NCAA swimming championships and they are just as well run and efficient as the MCLA event that just happened in May. but i can tell you that not team decided to go home halfway through once they couldnt win the title anymore, leaving other teams stranded and searching for games.....

You all should be proud of this league because of the growth and success that it has today. You should always aspire to make it bigger, better, and stronger. but you shouldn't try to make it like other events. You should always try to make it like the MCLA National Championships and the growth with continue and the awareness will come.

Roger that. Tired of the "stepping stone to varsity" complex. Much better ways to give the MCLA national recognition just around the corner.

out.
AO

[Highheat]

I for one do not think that moving the championships to the east coast will be an effective strategy to getting the MCLA more recognition. Realize that while our championship tournament is going on, the earlier rounds of the NCAA tournaments are also happening, many of them in the east coast hotbeds like Maryland, New York, Massachusetts etc.

I agree that we just need to try and put out the best product that we can, and not worry about who sees us or where they see us. If the MCLA continues to put forward an increasingly consistent and 'good' product, people will start to see it more and recognize it more, regardless of where that may be...

Until then, i think choosing locations where there is a supportive crowd towards the MCLA and Lacrosse in general is the best answer. Both Colorado, and Northern and Southern California have incredibly enthusiastic fans and youth programs that have ties to MCLA teams... all you have to do is look at the CSU vs. CU and BYU games last year; if i'm not mistaking they had far more fans at those games then we did at the National Championships.

The San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego are both areas that have grown a ton in the last 5 years and the majority of the players from these areas that play in college play in the MCLA; therefore there is a crowd that is more supportive and eager to see our games. The CSUs, UCSBs, Sonomas, BYUs etc. actually hold weight in these areas, whereas in areas like Dallas, they are still relatively obscure to people.

I understand the need for a large and competitively priced facility, and the facility at Pizza Hut Park is ideal for the tournament, but i'm holding out hope that arrangements could be made in one of these other areas, so that we may see at least 5,000-10,000 people out at our Championship games. Crowds like that will start to create more buzz around what we're doing and will be harder for the masses to ignore.

It would also be fantastic, if the tournament could get some local media coverage in future events. I'm not sure how possible that is, but I'm fairly sure that if you spin it in the direction of a large number of local products now playing for MCLA programs in these areas, it would once again help awareness for our league grow, and in turn, interest more high school players who may not have considered the MCLA as an option before.

[Woda]

My opinion on Dallas - Pizza Hut Park:

Great venue, horrible location / fan support

Let me elaborate before anyone tries to jump down my throat. Other than parents and players playing at the event, there were virtually NO other fans at the games. I would love to see this event be held somewhere where fans other than the ones listed above would like to come. (Bars / hotels within cab / walking distance). Thats what helps make the NCAA championship so fun to go to IMHO.