Bilas says ACC should be at MSG

[Hall2012]

The Big East and the A-10 are the only two leagues that can commit to a long term annual contract at MSG. There is no chance that the ACC or the Big10 are putting a stake in the ground in NYC every year. Anyone think that MSG dumps us for the A-10?

Ratings and NCAA performance will also dictate as to whether the Big10's experiment of coming to NYC a week early continues. If I'm a Big10 coach, I'll be nervous if my team has a week off before the NCAAs.

Not ideal, but does MSG risk having the BE negotiate a long term deal in Brooklyn for the chance to have no one in the Garden every 3 of 5 years?

How much incremental revenue would MSG get?

2016 ACC attendance (DC) - 20,719
2016 BE attendance (NYC) - 19,812

Yeah, I don't think MSG is too concerned about that. MSG's revenue is based on renting out the venue, not sales/attendance. If there was a year they didn't have college hoops, they'd easily replace it with something else. The bottom line is that MSG is much more important to the Big East than the Big East is to MSG. When it comes time to renegotiate the contract, the B1G and ACC will at the very least be able to get us in a bidding war and drive up our costs, even if we ultimately do win it (which we very well may not if it comes to that). If there's competition for the Garden in the future, we need to stay well ahead of the game in extending our contract before it comes close to expiring and hope that MSG cooperates/sticks with us as a long tenured business partner even if it means potentially leaving some money on the table.

Point taken. The only thing I dispute is easily replace. I can't think of a long term replacement in March every year and other than sporting events and concerts I'm not sure what else goes into the Garden. The easily replaced events can be moved to another date. Not having NCAA basketball is lost revenue, not replaced revenue. Also, the competition can't go high enough if that league is only coming in say once every 5 years.

There's plenty of shows/concerts that will stay in one venue for multiple days and MSG is one of the most sought after venues in the country if not the world for events. With the at least a year's notice that MSG would have on the dates being open, I'm fairly confident they could fill it. Another option no basketball tournament would give them is more flexibility with Knicks/Rangers scheduling which could open up 4 other dates throughout the year. Assuming renting for multiple days gets a slight per-day discount, that's a route that could actually net them more money. So I can't say for sure how "easy" it would be to replace a CBB conference tournament, but I guarantee The Garden won't be sitting empty for a week.

[FriarJ]

Bilas is about Bilas. He wants to call the game at MSG because his arrogance tells him that's where he should be. Any other reason out of his mouth is disingenuous.

[EMT]

But MSG can do all those things now anyways and I'm sure their sales staff is doing that every day. We are going to need to agree to disagree. I strongly believe that not having annual NCAA conference tournament revenue is lost revenue for MSG. It can't be replaced. Here's the MSG events calendar the rest of the year. There are many open dates to fill.

http://www.thegarden.com/tickets.html

[kayako]

The bottom line is that MSG is much more important to the Big East than the Big East is to MSG.

Probably. The C7 paid over $100M to reclaim the logo & MSG rights from USF, UCONN, and Cinci. Would adding 2 extra games by expanding to 12 teams make the BET more attractive to MSG?

[ecasadoSBU]

I would be very scared if the ACC adds Uconn to their lineup. Uconn would draw well anywhere in the NYC region. Combine that with Syracuse and may have enough firepower to kick the BET out of MSG.

Big East can be proactive and add some solid programs to protect the BET long term. But it doesn't have to do it now.

[EMT]

I would be very scared if the ACC adds Uconn to their lineup. Uconn would draw well anywhere in the NYC region.

Once every five years or so......

[ecasadoSBU]

I would be very scared if the ACC adds Uconn to their lineup. Uconn would draw well anywhere in the NYC region.

Once every five years or so......

Not true. Connecticut has a solid following and that MetroNorth Express brought a large contingent from Fairfield County every year

[Hall2012]

I'm not saying the Big East offers no value to MSG. There's absolutely value in having a tenant who you know will be there the same week every year. It saves them the expense of working to book that space every year, set-up and breakdown is largely the same which improves costs and efficiency compared to an entirely new entity, it's 5 events (sessions) worth of revenue they know they're getting, and their brand is directly aligned with one of the biggest college hoops brands in the country. We definitely offer value to them.

However, if the Big East left MSG, MSG would be just fine. Business would continue as usual, they'd still make plenty of money, they'd get plenty of other cbb conference tournaments that they can charge higher rent for as 1-offs, and while it's possible they'll take a small hit, the company is large enough and has enough revenue streams that it would ultimately be perfectly fine.

The Big East, on the other hand, would take a massive blow to its brand and lose a huge recruiting tool. I wish I could say the Big East would be just fine and continue business as usual as well, but I'm not entirely convinced that would be true.

[ecasadoSBU]

I'm not saying the Big East offers no value to MSG. There's absolutely value in having a tenant who you know will be there the same week every year. It saves them the expense of working to book that space every year, set-up and breakdown is largely the same which improves costs and efficiency compared to an entirely new entity, it's 5 events (sessions) worth of revenue they know they're getting, and their brand is directly aligned with one of the biggest college hoops brands in the country. We definitely offer value to them.

However, if the Big East left MSG, MSG would be just fine. Business would continue as usual, they'd still make plenty of money, they'd get plenty of other cbb conference tournaments that they can charge higher rent for as 1-offs, and while it's possible they'll take a small hit, the company is large enough and has enough revenue streams that it would ultimately be perfectly fine.

The Big East, on the other hand, would take a massive blow to its brand and lose a huge recruiting tool. I wish I could say the Big East would be just fine and continue business as usual as well, but I'm not entirely convinced that would be true.

I agree. the Big East definitely needs to protect the BET at MSG. Its hugely important and maybe one of the major factors why the Big East is still a major conference

[BEwannabe]

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20170306/espns-jay-bilas-says-acc-should-have-its-eyes-set-on-madison-square-garden

Although their nearest team is around 250 miles away, with the ACC coming to Brooklyn this year, and the B1G playing at the Garden a week early next year, it's obvious some rivals have their eyes on our prized jewel. It's also concerning we have a determined enemy in ESPN, that would do all it could to help facilitate this. I realize things are good for us, we have the reigning national champion and are likely to send the highest percentage of league members to the NCAA's this year. But that doesn't mean the league should be complacent. There will be inevitable down years, where we won't be in the same position of strength as we are today. A 10 team league simply does not have the same margin for error that larger conferences have. There is strength in numbers, especially when those teams have a loyal, fanatic following, that will lead them to NYC for the BET. I don't think either VCU or Dayton will be signing up to join the AAC, but I do think the AAC has zeroed in on the right schools. We need to be open minded when considering how best to maintain our status in the pecking order of collge basketball. Having those two fan bases decsending on MSG every year, would help fend off the inevitable challenges that are coming.

As I've prefaced all my comments about the VCU,WSU & UD to AAC as fake news I'd love to know the source. Is it UCONN and ESPN? For the life of me I can't figure out why the ACC doesn't take UCONN. Because BC doesn't want them? That's crazy!

Despite some advantages I don't want UD in the AAC. Games on ESPN would be great and UD Arena would probably sell out for the year because of the pressure for in conference tickets would force people to buy a season book and then I'm sure UD would gouge us even more for seat licences and at the concession stand. Some things will never change on the hill.

It would be a mini coup for ESPN on the financial side if they did get UD & VCU in AAC. ESPN currently televises top tier A10 games primarily on the deuce and shoves the rest downstream to CBS and NBC sports networks. ESPN wouldn't need the A10 deal any longer or if they still wanted Friday night games it would be at a reduced price because they went out and brought their A10 top tier into the AAC contract. AAC board tosses $1mil amount for basketball only additions which is a nice season $ jump for the Flyers and as previously mentioned the recruiting bonus of games on ESPN.

So as nice a fit it might seem financially the notion just makes my skin crawl for whatever reason. Memphis and SMU are known cheats and Houston, UCONN and UC are gone the minute a better deal comes along.