Rumor?: Big Ten championship game to be played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas "in near future"
Not sure if legitimate source, but is being reported.
Link: https://twitter.com/1460kxno/status/1689671680149299200
August 10th, 2023 at 1:57 PM ^
I guess it would be good for the four western schools (and fun for everyone else), but Indy is such a great host city. I imagine a future where there's a Big Ten seminfal and final, given the 18-20 team future.
Selfishly, I've always thought Detroit would be a great alternative to Indy. Indoor stadium, in a city center, centrally located.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:36 PM ^
I think you are right on semifinals having to be a thing. If they don't want to do divisions, it just seems like it's going to be really hard to get two clear cut teams to play in the championship with 18-20 teams. I think an 8 game prescheduled season with the 9th game being a "position round" that has 1 hosting 4 and 2 hosting 3 as seminfinals would make a lot of sense. Another positive is that it would get UM/OSU off of Thanksgiving weekend.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:51 PM ^
Indy sucks
August 10th, 2023 at 6:05 PM ^
but logistically it works well for most fans of most of the non-coastal teams in the conference
August 10th, 2023 at 6:19 PM ^
[oops. double posted]
August 11th, 2023 at 7:35 PM ^
Indianapolis is one of the dullest, most antiseptic big cities I’ve ever been to. It’s a cultural void.
August 11th, 2023 at 4:42 AM ^
Indy is a great host city once you're there, but Indianapolis is not a "major" airport/their flight options are very poor compared to a lot of other options (including those in the Midwest like Detroit or Minneapolis).
Indy isn't even that amazing driving-distance-wise either for many schools; obviously not for the newest additions (the West Coast schools and MD/Rutgers), but it's also not a feasible drive from Nebraska, Minnesota, or Penn State, and even for Iowa & Wisconsin it's over 5.5 hours from campus. Indy also is not a city that many alumni of most schools move to, so it has fewer locals than some other bigger city options.
Of the actual contenders (excluding the 4 IN/IL schools who are unlikely to go often, if at all), Indy is an amazing location for Ohio State first & foremost, and pretty good for Michigan/MSU (though Detroit would obviously be better), but that's really it. I think it's still an okay location for Wisconsin & Iowa too (but Minneapolis is better for both). It's an outright bad location for Nebraska, PSU, UCLA, USC, & Oregon (focusing on the most likely contenders).
All in all, I don't think Indy deserves a monopoly on this. The conference is huge now. Cities like Minneapolis & Detroit are just as deserving as Indy (and have way better flight options for those coming from outside the Midwest), and it would be fun to do occasional games in the Rose Bowl, or Vegas. And of course, if Chicago gets an indoor stadium someday, it's even more central driving distance than Indy and obviously way more flights/amenities.
August 11th, 2023 at 10:09 AM ^
I agree with your last point for sure. Minny/Detroit both have excellent flight options.
But Indy is easily drivable for most of the conference. From the West: Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Wisco, and Iowa are all within six hours. Nebraska and Minnesota are the only two where it's not realistic - 9-10 hours.
East: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State are close. PSU is 8 hours, so potentially doable for some. Rutgers and Maryland are not (but have never sniffed the title game).
That's 9 / 14 teams where the championship is driveable, which is pretty incredible given how far apart schools are located.
August 11th, 2023 at 10:18 PM ^
what is great about it when you are there?
August 11th, 2023 at 6:27 PM ^
Indy is Mike Pence's idea of Vegas.
August 10th, 2023 at 1:58 PM ^
That would be pretty damn fun actually. As much as a I hate the west coasting of the B1G I'd be very down with a Vegas championship game weekend.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:38 PM ^
I think the issue is that if you had say Ohio State vs Penn State playing in Vegas with both being assured of making the 12 team playoff, how many of their fans are going to pay to fly out there? I guess it's just an inevitable problem of this geographically insane conference.
August 10th, 2023 at 4:16 PM ^
If Penn State and Ohio State are playing in the CCG that stadium is going to be sold out.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:52 PM ^
Most weekends its cheaper to fly to vegas than drive to wherever
August 11th, 2023 at 2:45 PM ^
Yeah it’s after you get there when you’re bled dry of cash. The prices now for food and drinks are about NYC level.
August 11th, 2023 at 10:19 PM ^
and? [it actually has things to do and great food]
August 10th, 2023 at 8:18 PM ^
It’s going to be what leads to more on campus playoff rounds eventually IMO. Schools may be asking their fans to pay to travel to a neutral site CCG, neutral site 2nd round playoff game, neutral site semifinal, and neutral site title game all within 45-60 days. For schools consistently in those games, and will stop making those trips in large numbers within a couple years. Plus the schools, who are having trouble selling season tickets compared to the past, would be able to entice fans into buying season tix by providing access to on campus playoff game tix.
August 10th, 2023 at 3:19 PM ^
The Big Ten West's motto comes into focus: "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."
August 10th, 2023 at 2:00 PM ^
As much as people like to generally knock Indianapolis, it is by far the best city that can host a sporting event. It’s like they designed the city to do just that.
With that, Vegas isn’t that far behind probably.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:34 PM ^
People who love to shit on Indy have never been here for a big game (B1G Championships, Super Bowl, etc.). While it's not the most entertaining city overall, it does very well hosting these events.
August 10th, 2023 at 3:25 PM ^
I work for a large pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indy and I've been pleasantly surprised during my visits to HQ. There are plenty of hotels downtown and a good variety of restaurants. Everything is reasonably walkable. It's a good city..
August 10th, 2023 at 4:05 PM ^
Large pharmaceutical company with an HQ in downtown Indy. I wonder who that is?!
August 10th, 2023 at 4:04 PM ^
St. Elmo’s is still one of the best steak houses I’ve been to. I’m not the biggest fan of the horse radish shrimp dish they like to promote, but the prime rib is one of the best out there.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:58 PM ^
Not the most entertaining city at all...that's exactly what everyone shitting on Indy believes (and you've just confirmed).
August 10th, 2023 at 5:59 PM ^
I paid $300 for a shitbag hotel 15 minutes north of downtown for the 2021 big ten championship game. It was falling apart, the room had stains of unknown origin, and they bussed in homeless people at night. Every other room in the city was $1000+. That wouldn't happen in any city of reasonable size that could handle that amount of people coming in for the weekend, even with butt hurt OSU fans holding onto their reservations.
August 10th, 2023 at 8:11 PM ^
No. There really is no other city that could handle this type of event. For example, chicago would be far worse with regards to pricing, transportation and safety. Indy is by no means perfect, but damn it knows how to host a sporting event.
August 10th, 2023 at 9:52 PM ^
Vegas is uniquely suited to handle this type of event. Tremendous inventory of hotel rooms courtesy of the casinos and the stadium is on the strip.
August 10th, 2023 at 10:52 PM ^
So you did a shit job picking a hotel and that's on the city? We air bnb'd a house for less than that this year for the championship game.
Indy hosts the largest single day sporting event in the world every year. It should be the permanent home of the B1G basketball tourney as it is BY FAR the best venue for it; the downtown as many have already pointed out it is built for these types of events.
August 10th, 2023 at 3:23 PM ^
I went to the Alamo Bowl v Nebraska a million years ago and San Antonio was like that as well. Pre-Uber and still didn't need to rent a car.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
I had a friend who loves board games and invited me to GenCon. I agreed, not knowing that it would be hosting 70,000 people for the event. Places were easy to find, easy to get around even with traffic, and even with 70,000 extra people there it seemed the city could easily handle it. I was impressed.
August 10th, 2023 at 5:55 PM ^
Board games and de-tasseling, that's what Indiana does...
August 10th, 2023 at 5:56 PM ^
Ummm. Vegas >>>>> Indy
Every day and twice on Sunday.
August 11th, 2023 at 2:12 AM ^
WTF is your problem?
August 10th, 2023 at 2:01 PM ^
No team in NV, sure, let's have the game in NV.
I like the idea of doing it in the Rose Bowl or Indy or somewhere out east. Maybe do a three year rotation - East, Central, West in a state with a Big Ten team.
If it's a true neutral site, worse places than NV.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:04 PM ^
Vegas is actually in the footprint. Right nut.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:12 PM ^
Rutgers on the leading edge (tip?) of college football once again.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:31 PM ^
If we add Clemson we go a bit limp, and when FSU joins we'll be fully flaccid.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:43 PM ^
Unless we add some Texas schools in a girth move.
August 10th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
But also, it would be an extremely impressive fully flaccid length.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:37 PM ^
To be fair, the right nut is much larger than the left. A lot of people think you don't even need the nuts but maybe they help produce something in the future?
August 10th, 2023 at 2:52 PM ^
^^^ look at this guy low-key bragging how symmetrical his nutsack is.
August 10th, 2023 at 4:51 PM ^
You mean like a future?
August 10th, 2023 at 3:08 PM ^
Looks like Randy Marsh's global warming picture
August 10th, 2023 at 4:08 PM ^
This is not work safe, but I LMAO!!! Well done, sir - take my +1...
August 10th, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
Most of the schools are located right on the shank!
August 10th, 2023 at 6:22 PM ^
Guess the buckNUTS are moving out west....bye!
August 10th, 2023 at 9:27 PM ^
Is that why Zach Smith ordered those ball lifters ftom Amazon?
August 10th, 2023 at 8:07 PM ^
Wait until they sprinkle in the island sized regions of Bermuda College and the University of the Bahamas. That will be the climax of Big Ten expansion.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:04 PM ^
I attended the Iowa championship game but if it wasn't driving distance, I likely wouldn't have gone. But with fans all over the country, likely not a huge deal for our alumni base. Bigger deal for the schools with a more regional fan base.
August 10th, 2023 at 2:05 PM ^
This is stupid, make the west coast teams travel, if they make it. This should be a rare occurrence for locations.