Tourney Talk
Posted May 11, 2005, 9:27 AM ET

The ACC Spring meetings are taking place this week at beautiful Amelia Island. All the business of the conference is being discussed by administrators, coaches and conference officials.

One of the topics concerns the potential future sites for the ACC's Men's Basketball Tournament. There is no question that the event is the crown jewel for the league, and with the addition of Boston College, the conference has to find sites big enough to host the tournament.

The rotation for the next five years is set:

Greensboro in '06.
Tampa in '07.
Charlotte in '08.
Atlanta in '09.
and back to Greensboro in '10.

With the conference members now totaling 12, it is imperative that a city and its arena can accommodate the hordes of fans. Dome stadiums exist in Tampa and Atlanta, so that's not an issue. Greensboro can seat upwards of 24,000, and that seems to be acceptable.

However, Charlotte is a different story. The brand new Uptown Arena will be state-of-the-art, but it will only handle around 20,000 fans. And that alone could cause a problem for the ACC and the city officials.

Charlotte Sports Commission Executive Director, Jeff Beaver, was quoted in the Charlotte Observer with a unique proposal.

Beaver said he is considering a proposal that would allow Charlotte to host the first and second-day games of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, and then allow the semi-finals and title game to be played somewhere else.

He's serious.

I think that idea is comical. In fact, it is flat-out stupid.

First of all, the ACC would never allow its biggest event to be split up into different markets. Could you imagine your favorite ACC team winning in Charlotte on day one, and then having to get on a plane and play in Atlanta or Tampa for day two? No way.

And let's use some common sense...if your arena isn't big enough for the event because there are 12 members, why would you make a proposal to host all 12 teams for the beginning of the event? If you want to make that type of proposal, ask for the semifinals (four teams) or the title game (2 teams)...that way, your arena could handle the ticket demand of fewer teams.

The idea is stupid.

Charlotte and Jeff Beaver should take a very simple stance on this issue. Tell the ACC that you have the finest arena on the planet...and by the way, the new place is going to be incredible. If the almighty ACC doesn't want to come to Charlotte, then fine...stay away.

It is as simple as that. If the ACC doesn't want to play in the showcase arena of the South, then it is their loss.

But to make a juvenile proposal like the one Beaver is talking about ...well, it looks like an act of desperation. And Charlotte will be just fine without the ACC Tournament.