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August 19, 2008
MAAC Madness in Brooklyn
The Full-Court Press
Back in July, we promised that we'd post The Full-Court Press's analysis of an as-yet-unbuilt Brooklyn arena as possible future site of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament. Then we missed the post, which appeared on August 7th. Here are some highlights.
Our series gets a little more intriguing today, because Brooklyn is the first potential site we'll look at that has never hosted the tournament. Unlike some of the other potential sites, which could have been options but weren't strongly considered, Brooklyn is new to the mix because Atlantic Yards, the future home of the Nets, is still being constructed.
...Atlantic Yards will be nearly brand new in 2012, will be accessible on the NYC Subway, and is an easy commute on the LIR for MAAC fans on Long Island. So were I at the table when the discussions were going on, it'd be at or near the top of my list of neutral sites.
NoLandGrab: One possible reason Atlantic Yards hasn't been considered as a site in the past is because it doesn't exist. Nor is it "still being constructed" — construction has yet to begin, and the soonest any construction could actually begin would likely be some time in 2009. Which means it would most likely be "not nearly finished" by the 2012 MAAC tourney, rather than "nearly brand new."
The Full-Court Press's look at the Prudential Center in Newark also mentions Atlantic Yards. "The Rock" may have an advantage as a potential MAAC tournament site, seeing how it's, um, real.
Posted by eric at August 19, 2008 1:24 PM