Great site and host for the NCAA tourney. It is going to come back in 2 years and I hear Pittsburgh is getting serious consideration for a regional finals.
So well done folks.
So well done folks.
It's funny, for a horrible basketball city, Pittsburgh showed out again.
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Curious where you are hearing about Regional Finals. Through 2025 it seems like most regional sites are in cities that are a bit above Pittsburghs population. But that would be super cool if it happened.
Yea at one time it was did that Pittsburgh
may not be suitable. But maybe with the repeated success it’s been earned and we’ll get a shot.
PPG holds more fans than three of the four sites for this year..not sure why a 19,500+ seat arena sold out in Pittsburgh should be any different than a 19,500+ seat arena sold out in Philadelphia but I guess it is.. This year's San Antonio is not exactly Mexico City in terms of population...
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Yeah, there have been articles on this over the years. Essentially, the NCAA reps say something like they love Pittsburgh as a site and "in spirit" would love to see them get a Regionals, but we fall short on some criteria. Like others, I am not sure what that criteria is...PPG is a reasonably sized arena with infrastructure around it for parking, public transportation, etc. I suppose their could be some better dining options around it, but I really don't think that is a big factor. Lack of hotel room is often mentioned in events discussions for Pittsburgh in general, so that may well be it. While the arena only seats 19,000 people, given them different teams and different sessions, probably more like 40,000-50,000 fans coming to town, plus all the support people, media, etc.
However, we have been adding hotel space in the area, so maybe the NCAA would throw Pittsburgh a bone and give them a Regional as a reward for all the great Rounds 1/2 we host.
However, we have been adding hotel space in the area, so maybe the NCAA would throw Pittsburgh a bone and give them a Regional as a reward for all the great Rounds 1/2 we host.
not sure how Pittsburgh lacks the hotel capacity any more than Louisville or Kansans City which are two near future sites...in the age of the AirBnb types of the world this becomes a more and more moot point by the powers that be... As far as the 40,000-50,000 fans go, that pales in comparison to the weekend at Oakmont for a US Open.
I'm always pleasantly surprised how well people turn out for the tournament here since it's not a big basketball town to put it nicely. I wonder how many are people driving in from Baltimore/DC/Cleveland/Detroit/Columbus/Philly since we're not that far from those locations.
I'd love a regional finals here someday but PPG Paints is not really a great place to watch basketball. IDK exactly what it is but the angles just feel weird.
I'd love a regional finals here someday but PPG Paints is not really a great place to watch basketball. IDK exactly what it is but the angles just feel weird.
Maybe it's because it's not a big basketball town. When Pitt was good, the Pete was full, if Pitt was good and played at the Igloo or PPG, it was full. so even with less basketball interest, you have one big event in a year, people who care about basketball turn out.
Pittsburgh also ended up as a Hockey Town by a perfect storm of events, the ABA failed here, and the Pens almost failed 40 years ago, if Mario, Jagr, Sid, Malkin, MAF etc. don't all by some miracle land here and win almost as many Cups as the the Stillers have Lombardis, I doubt it's a hockey town. When I was a kid in the 70s, NOBODY I knew watched or played hockey period. Yes I know some of you had a different experience, that was mine.
I always wonder how things would have worked out if Pittsburgh got a NBA team in 1967 instead of a NHL team since both leagues expanded that year.
As far as hotel space goes, there are no more hotels needed for regionals than first round, since the same number of fans would be attending for either event.
Perhaps by the time a regional final comes here, the lower hill development project will have progressed? That’d help with hotel options as well as entertainment/gathering spots before and after games. Could become similar to KC’s Power and Light District.
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Or the original 1960 expansion. Pittsburgh was announced as an expansion site then, but the guy who was awarded the franchise backed out. The other expansion team was the current-day Washington Wizards, but they struggled in Chicago for the first two years of their existence before relocating to Baltimore.
The whole Pittsburgh Pipers ABA thing was weird. It was never ever on local TV, as far as I remember, I don't think I ever saw it- I would of watched, I loved basketball at that time. So the first year of the ABA, Pittsburgh wins the first championship- with Hall of Famer Connie Hawkins no less, then immediately moves to Minnesota, but just for one year, then returns to Pittsburgh, but that never worked out and folded after a few years. I was only like 8-12 during the Pittsburgh ABA era, so I don't have a clue about it? They where league champs, but apparently not popular and the move to Minnesota and back in a year, that's weird. Since it seemed to get zero coverage, I kind of get why it failed, it's just weird.
Interesting, I had no idea about that. I did recall that the Pittsburgh Ironmen were part of the inaugural season of the predecessor to the NBA. Seemed like they tried many times to make basketball work in Pittsburgh.
I was at all 6. All games completely packed. I unfortunately Stubhub'd mine and ticket prices were astronomical....and for all non-brand teams. Also, neither OSU or Nova traveled well so it was mostly Yinzers.
For whatever reason, Pgh is one of the very best NCAA Tournament towns. I was jealous that the Buffalo games were going for $6 uppers and $14 lowers. Then I turn it on and the upper deck is half empty. Pgh loves the NCAA Tournament.
Also, a ton of people wearing Pitt fans. My friend said that wondered if Pitt fans are so starved for college basketball, they're coming to this.
For whatever reason, Pgh is one of the very best NCAA Tournament towns. I was jealous that the Buffalo games were going for $6 uppers and $14 lowers. Then I turn it on and the upper deck is half empty. Pgh loves the NCAA Tournament.
Also, a ton of people wearing Pitt fans. My friend said that wondered if Pitt fans are so starved for college basketball, they're coming to this.
What I remember about the Pipers experience was this: In that first season, while the numbers were mediocre in comparison to the NBA, the Pipers led the league in attendance. However, the league had tapped George Mikan as its commissioner (trying to get a recognizable name to lend it credibility), and the league was operating out of Mikan's law offices in Minneapolis. Despite their success on the court and decent (relatively speaking) performance at the box office, Pipers owner Gabe Rubin was in over his head financially. Following that first season, the Minnesota franchise moved to Miami, so there was pressure to move a replacement team to the league's headquarters city. So, Rubin sold the Pipers to a group who moved the team to Minnesota. That lasted just one year, and finding no success there, that ownership group sold the team to a guy named Mark Binstein, who moved it back to Pittsburgh. However, having been p*ssed off by the move to Minnesota in the first place, the fans never embraced the return.
Surprising about Nova. I went the one year they were here and Nova fans were everywhere.
Burgh isn’t a horrible basketball city, by any means. Usually does a great job with the tourney, etc. If there was an NBA team here, it would get major support.
Shows it's not a horrible basketball city, just hates horrible basketball.
Move out of town just as you're supposed to be hanging a championship banner the next opening day doesn't exactly build momentum, then come back after a whole year?
I think I have come to two irrefutable truths about Pittsburgh sports fandom.
1. Pittsburgh sports fans support winners and run from losers.
2. Pittsburgh sports fans love an event. NCAA tournament. All Star Games. US Open.
I have a feeling the whole myth of Pittsburgh being this amazing sports town, especially as it relates to the Steelers, is going to be put to the test. The Steelers are on the cusp of some potential dark days ahead. Those blazing yellow seats will be on full display on Sundays if Mitch Trubisky isn’t a whole lot better than he was in Chicago.
The Pirates still have fans. As for the Steelers, almost every yellow seat that's empty is paid for, almost the whole thing is sold out in advance for the whole year, so it won't matter much unless people start abandoning seat licenses. I wonder more about the Pens, when they lose Sid, if the next Mario or Sid doesn't miraculously fall to them in an upcoming draft?
That is my recollection as well. Had season tickets at the time and enjoyed the ride. Connie Hawkins, Chico Vaughn, Art Hayman, Tom Washington et all were very entertaining. I felt totally betrayed when they moved and they never gained traction with me when they returned.
I’d bet the average age of Pirates fans is the oldest in MLB. Pirates support is literally dying. It’s been what, maybe a half dozen years since the Pirates averaged 20k a game, if you believe the attendance figures provided by the team.
And I’d bet that those figures are significantly skewed by fireworks and bobble heads, shamefully. Because you know - Pittsburghers love an event. Even if it’s a $1 trinket made in Taiwan.
I agree with you that the backlog of Steelers season tickets will keep paid ticketing up. But the optics of a lack of butts in seats will be telling. Hell, it’s already started, even in light of COVID.
You are assuming the split between locals and traveling fans is the same for those rounds. Still, we have plenty of big events at Heinz and they've had NHL and MLB all-star games here. I am not sure why that event would be unique.
I don’t know how the NCAA distributes tickets for the tournament, but it cannot be much different for different rounds. In any case, you are correct that there are other big events here, which do not seem to have a problem with hotel rooms.
Let's also remember regarding Pro Basketball, the ABA was run on bandaids and duct tape. And the NBA until Bird/Magic came into the league, even with Dr J, the Celtics, Willis Reed, was as low rated as the NHL. It's finals were in a tape delay.
So judging Pittsburgh's attendance way back then is not fair, because that was true of most any pro basketball team. And let's also acknowledge in the 70's, teams like the Cubs, the Braves, Astros, Mets, SF etc... drew less than 10K per game in some years.
Attending sporting events didn't become a real matter of "civic duty" until well into the 80's.
So judging Pittsburgh's attendance way back then is not fair, because that was true of most any pro basketball team. And let's also acknowledge in the 70's, teams like the Cubs, the Braves, Astros, Mets, SF etc... drew less than 10K per game in some years.
Attending sporting events didn't become a real matter of "civic duty" until well into the 80's.
I would love to see a comparison of the growth of the populations of the metro areas for the Cubs, Braves, Astros, and SF in comparison to the growth in Western PA since the 70s. Yeah maybe attendance wasn't great for them back then, but relatively speaking it has to be a lot easier for those markets to fill the seats for not just their baseball teams but other sports teams nowadays in comparison to Pittsburgh. I would love to see an NBA team in Pittsburgh, I would buy season tickets, but I'm just not sure Pittsburgh is big enough to support the NBA on top of the existing pro landscape here.
IIRC, schools get something like 500 tickets for the first weekend's games and something like 1,200 for the second weekend's games.
It should be fairly obvious to everyone that there is a reason the second weekend's tickets are more expensive: more fans want to buy them.
Thanks. That means 4,000 out of town for the first round, and 4,800 for the second round. There are over 24,000 hotel rooms in the area. Hardly enough difference for hotel rooms to be a factor.
That's why I find it funny to have expectations of Pitt filling Heinz Field every week, 40k is a huge crowd, I also like that in the 70s NOBODY CARED about the perception of seeing empty seats on TV.
I forget who the Pittsburgh reporter was, but had a classic line
"If an NBA game was being played in my backyard, I would pull the shades down"
San Antonio is in the top 10 by population, I think. Pgh is all of 300,000.
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San Antonio and Pittsburgh's metro area's are pretty close, both are larger than Kansas City and Indianapolis though.San Antonio is in the top 10 by population, I think. Pgh is all of 300,000.
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I have three sons who I introduced to baseball in pre-school years, all played T-ball and coach pitch and kid pitch baseball through 12 years old - I signed them up every year. After 12U, I told them it was up to them to continue playing or not, it was their choice. Zero of them chose to continue playing, even though two had been 12U All Stars. Zero of all them will watch even an inning of baseball on TV. 1 of the 3 will attend a Pirates game in person, but only 2-3 games per year max. In short, they have no interest in the game and most of their friends are the same, except for the few friends that actually kept playing into high school (i.e. there are no casual fans in their crowds that don't play themselves). More than once, I have offered a set of free tickets to a son and his friends, and they all decline. Baseball is dying with the younger generations, at least around here.
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