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I really would like the city to land this. I'm just scared that USC runs everything and would be a factor in. It choosing th city....other cities on the list are Greenville, Charleston, Greensboro, Asheville, Raleigh, and Fayeteville. But maybe, with the talent USC has that would be a great next step for those USC players!
To me.. this would be great for Columbia.. they could play in the old Coliseum.... Perfect location... but oh I forgot... USC....SMH....Then again Mike McGee may be long gone.. He was best know for rejecting the Panthers when they wanted to play their first season in Columbia..
I think Columbia is a long-shot to win this. My bet would be on Greensboro with Raleigh second. Even out of the SC cities, I think Columbia would be the third choice. There are already big time sports in town, and the Gamecocks are most people's focus.
Also d league basketball is no prize look at the cities that have teams
Also look at average attendance it's pretty much 0 economic impact
So don't really care
The old coliseum is probably not an option. USC tore out a lot of the lower level seating and turned the court sideways so they could fit 3 full size practice courts in there. It is strictly a practice facility now. A D team isn't going to warrant the money needed to turn it back into a single use court again.
You don't expect a D-league team to bring vast revenues to a city (there are debates on whether pro-teams even bring substantial net financial benefits to cities) but they can be a nice form of local entertainment (typical arena capacity of D-league teams is about 5000). Most teams don't expect to even make money but are an expense to develop young players. The d-league could become more important in future years as the NBA moves to a more formal minor league, similar to baseball, where the best young players can play, forgoing college.
USC's basketball team doesn't have a rich enough tradition to worry about overlap with their season. The league only plays 50 games a year between November and April.
You don't expect a D-league team to bring vast revenues to a city (there are debates on whether pro-teams even bring substantial net financial benefits to cities) but they can be a nice form of local entertainment (typical arena capacity of D-league teams is about 5000). Most teams don't expect to even make money but are an expense to develop young players. The d-league could become more important in future years as the NBA moves to a more formal minor league, similar to baseball, where the best young players can play, forgoing college.
USC's basketball team doesn't have a rich enough tradition to worry about overlap with their season. The league only plays 50 games a year between November and April.
I'd like to see Columbia get the team.
Those were my thoughts.. though the entire term "D league" seems to trivialize it Having gone to high school in Columbia.. Basketball is pretty popular here ever since the days of the Lower Richland and Eau Claire HS rivalries...It seems on the rebound since the Lady Gamecocks made their run.....Football in the Midlands seems more popular on the college level than high school unless things have changed. Baseball has always seemed problematic in the City except when the Gamecocks took the College championship... other than that the Bombers and the Blowfish seemed always lukewarm relationship with fans....Over in Lexington.. that may be a different story...
A new arena in Columbia?! Sign me up. Is this even feasible with all the money Columbia has sunk into the new baseball stadium? But then again, you'd almost need to build a new arena to even have a chance to attract something like this. We'll see what happens...
Woodlands- You echo a little bit of what Carey Rich says in this article.
“Columbia will support any good product, whether it is football, basketball or baseball,” Rich says. “I think, when there is a good product, Columbia has shown it will support any sport. … How many people ever thought the USC women’s basketball team could generate that kind of home court advantage? How many people thought South Carolina women’s basketball could generate 14,000 or 15,000 for a game? Any time there is a good product, Columbia will support it. I played during the era when high school games sold out the Carolina Coliseum. So, I laugh at the notion that nobody cares about basketball. I laugh at that notion because I lived it. My experience defies that myth.”
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Having gone to high school in Columbia.. Basketball is pretty popular here ever since the days of the Lower Richland and Eau Claire HS rivalries...It seems on the rebound since the Lady Gamecocks made their run.....Football in the Midlands seems more popular on the college level than high school unless things have changed. Baseball has always seemed problematic in the City except when the Gamecocks took the College championship... other than that the Bombers and the Blowfish seemed always lukewarm relationship with fans....Over in Lexington.. that may be a different story...
