SWAC B-Ball Tourney moves to $35 million Delmar Fieldhouse


tsugraytiger

tsugraytiger

Well-Known Member
I'm convinced that SWAC officials peruse the forums here b/c many have complained about why we have not downsized to save money and have better visuals on TV.

I never personally seen the Delmar Fieldhouse but based on the video below it looks great. It's brand new, 5,000 seats, easy enough to get to (downtown can be confusing), there's plenty of FREE PARKING (unlike downtown at Toyota), and I can see this being a great environment for the SWAC tourney. I'm expecting a larger crowd next year.

Great move SWAC!

 

I personally would like the tournament in Baton Rouge or Shreveport because i want to get out of Houston. i live here. Delmar is very nice and you can afford concessions.
 
BBALLWILL said:
I personally would like the tournament in Baton Rouge or Shreveport because i want to get out of Houston. i live here. Delmar is very nice and you can afford concessions.
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The only city I would think is a better move is New Orleans but it has to stay in Houston because ....

1) Houston has a lot of fun things to do with a plethora of affordable and nice hotels. It appeals to more people than BR and Shreveport will.
2) Houston has the largest population of SWAC alumni (Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta are next, New Orleans not so much)
3) NO ARENA in Louisiana is better and more affordable than the Delmar Fieldhouse right now. The Delmar Fh is a spanking brand new state of the art facility ... it's almost a downsized NBA arena ... there's no equivalent in Louisiana or any other SWAC state.
 
This has been in the works since the SWAC-COPs (council of presidents) found out how bad the conference finances were.

We were spending too much money on the top venues in Houston and eventually got house-poor.
 
tsugraytiger said:
The only city I would think is a better move is New Orleans but it has to stay in Houston because ....

1) Houston has a lot of fun things to do with a plethora of affordable and nice hotels. It appeals to more people than BR and Shreveport will.
2) Houston has the largest population of SWAC alumni (Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta are next, New Orleans not so much)
3) NO ARENA in Louisiana is better and more affordable than the Delmar Fieldhouse right now. The Delmar Fh is a spanking brand new state of the art facility ... it's almost a downsized NBA arena ... there's no equivalent in Louisiana or any other SWAC state.
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Xavier has a brand new arena that the NBA used during the recent All-Star games, but it is on Xavier campus. IMO, New Orleans has just as much or more fun things to do located in one area (Central Business District and French Quarters). Also, Cities like Lafayette and Alexandria have recently done major renovations to their arenas, but they are more than twice the capacity of Delmar FH and are in much smaller cities with a lot less things to do. Although smaller, those cities are more centrally located for SWAC schools. IMO, the SWAC HQ has done the 'hit-and-miss method' when deciding which facility and location are selected for the SWAC tourney. Maybe the SWAC HQ should think about doing a comprehensive survey to determine the next arena location for the SWAC tourney.

http://www.nola.com/xavier/index.ssf/2012/10/new_convocation_center.html
 
JAG89 said:
Xavier has a brand new arena that the NBA used during the recent All-Star games, but it is on Xavier campus. IMO, New Orleans has just as much or more fun things to do located in one area (Central Business District and French Quarters). Also, Cities like Lafayette and Alexandria have recently done major renovations to their arenas, but they are more than twice the capacity of Delmar FH and are in much smaller cities with a lot less things to do. Although smaller, those cities are more centrally located for SWAC schools. IMO, the SWAC HQ has done the 'hit-and-miss method' when deciding which facility and location are selected for the SWAC tourney. Maybe the SWAC HQ should think about doing a comprehensive survey to determine the next arena location for the SWAC tourney.

http://www.nola.com/xavier/index.ssf/2012/10/new_convocation_center.html
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The New Orleans metro don't have a big enough SWAC Alumni base .... it's mainly SU and GSU there. And those black and gold seats in Xavier arena is too distracting. Not too many travel for the tourney ... most of the attendees are local to the area and with that said Houston is the way to go. All SWAC schools have a respectable alumni base in Houston and plus it's a "black" city so that helps with bringing in casual fans
 
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tsugraytiger said:
The New Orleans metro don't have a big enough SWAC Alumni base .... it's mainly SU and GSU there. And those black and gold seats in Xavier arena is too distracting. Not too many travel for the tourney ... most of the attendees are local to the area and with that said Houston is the way to go. All SWAC schools have a respectable alumni base in Houston.
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Comprehensive survey??? Plus, New Orleans is more centrally located in the SWAC. The only SWAC schools close to Houston outside of the Texas are SU and GSU.
 
JAG89 said:
Comprehensive survey??? Plus, New Orleans is more centrally located in the SWAC. The only SWAC schools close to Houston outside of the Texas are SU and GSU.
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I read that Commissioner Duer said Houston is home to the largest SWAC alumni community .. they did some type of study. He said Dallas-Fort Worth was next and then Atlanta. That's why they moved the football and basketball tourney there and maybe one day the HQ office.
 
tsugraytiger said:
I read that Commissioner Duer said Houston is home to the largest SWAC alumni community .. they did some type of study. He said Dallas-Fort Worth was next and then Atlanta. That's why they moved the football and basketball tourney there and maybe one day the HQ office.
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That might be true, but Houston is the farthest western point for ALL SWAC schools. Therefore, it's probably not the best location for the majority of ALL SWAC alums when it comes to being centrally located. New Orleans would be a short drive for SWAC alums in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Most of Arkansas is even closer to New Orleans than Houston. Dallas would only bring Arkansas closer to Texas than New Orleans. As I stated, a comprehensive survey should be done.
 
JAG89 said:
Xavier has a brand new arena that the NBA used during the recent All-Star games, but it is on Xavier campus. IMO, New Orleans has just as much or more fun things to do located in one area (Central Business District and French Quarters). Also, Cities like Lafayette and Alexandria have recently done major renovations to their arenas, but they are more than twice the capacity of Delmar FH and are in much smaller cities with a lot less things to do. Although smaller, those cities are more centrally located for SWAC schools. IMO, the SWAC HQ has done the 'hit-and-miss method' when deciding which facility and location are selected for the SWAC tourney. Maybe the SWAC HQ should think about doing a comprehensive survey to determine the next arena location for the SWAC tourney.

http://www.nola.com/xavier/index.ssf/2012/10/new_convocation_center.html
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Data-driven decisions? What are those? Never heard of em...
 

2kool said:
Data-driven decisions? What are those? Never heard of em...
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I'm getting the strange feeling when Black folks are made to create and interrupt numerical data, it goes way over their heads. I saw this when I did a simple survey for an Omega chapter I was once in. The brothers didn't even want to consider numerical data that made too much sense. It's not hard to see why so many HBCU administrations are clueless.
 
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JAG89 said:
Comprehensive survey??? Plus, New Orleans is more centrally located in the SWAC. The only SWAC schools close to Houston outside of the Texas are SU and GSU.
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But you can get to Houston much easier and cheaper than going to New Orleans. New Orleans will rape you with those hotel rates just like they do y'all during the BC.

TexasTerror said:
I thought playing in a HS basketball arena in the Houston area for a league tournament was frowned upon... ??
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I guess you thought wrong, since it's not the first time the conference has used a School Districts Arena for it's tournament.

BBALLWILL said:
I am not a new orleans fan but i would take anywhere other than houston that has a golf course.
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You just want a excuse to get out of town. Just let the CB be your excuse for now.
 
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TSU/BAMA said:
I have said it once, I am gonna say it again, and I will say it a thousand times: No matter where the tournament is held, someone is going to complain.
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Which is why I think the SWAC Office should do comprehensive surveys when it comes to selecting sites for tournaments. But sitting back basing decisions on one or two factors is not the SMART way to select a site. Statistical surveys are not that hard to do if done right and non-biased. Like I previously stated, it seems like Black organization are always doing things haphazardly. Tradition and spiritual guidance (most Black churches) are not always the right decisions economically speaking.
 
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Fiyah said:
But you can get to Houston much easier and cheaper than going to New Orleans. New Orleans will rape you with those hotel rates just like they do y'all during the BC.
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Getting to Houston much cheaper and easier in comparison to what??? Airline prices??? I've flown into both cities several times and I really don't see that much of a difference in prices. Houston does have more options in airlines, but that's it. And how is it easier to drive to Houston when it is the farthest location for most SWAC schools??? Last I check, there are three major interstate highways leading to New Orleans (I-10, I-55, and I-59), whereas Houston only has two (I-10 and I-45) for now. It probably would be 20 years from now before I-69 is completed. Again, one or two PERSONAL factors is not the way to select a tournament site. Also, Amtrak has three routes going to New Orleans (Sunset Limited, City of New Orleans, and Crescent), whereas Houston only has one (Sunset Limited). It would seem to me your theory about getting to Houston cheaper and easier is only based on your PERSONAL beliefs. It is hard for me to believe that Houston is the overall best site based on one or two PERSONAL factors, which seems to be the way individuals in the SWAC office continues to do business, very haphazardly. IMO, doing business haphazardly is called the SWAC office being lazy and incompetent.
 
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Also, New Orleans has expanded and is expanding its French Quarter/Central Business District streetcar lines, which makes it a lot easier to get around New Orleans.
 
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