I attended the MAC title game and it was a very good atmosphere. Sure, we'd like attendance greater than 6800, but it didn't seem empty and the crowd was into the game. This is still a far better situation than many Div I conferences have.

The new reality is due to various modes of television coverage, along with the proliferation of entertainment options, attendance is lower for mid major sporting events.

Overall, Cleveland has been a slam dunk for the MAC. Perhaps some of the novelty has worn off over the years. I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I suppose one could argue that a move to another city might jump start interest, but it would be risky.

The Summit League has had unreal attendance figures the past couple of years. I think that's probably an aberration. But if you look back at some of these schools when they were Div II, they were among the national leaders in attendance.

The Missouri Valley tournament is high major IMO, so you can't compare mid major events to that one.

Actually, if I were selfish I would rather have it in Cleveland. I like Cleveland and when the tournament is in Cleveland it is nice to head up to the lake and catch up with some old high school friends who live there. Plus besides being a sports fan, I am a history buff, music fan and someone who admires architecture. It is nice to re-visit the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and revisit some old buildings and old churches, lots of history in Cleveland.

My desire for having it in Columbus besides convenience is simply a more workable business model not only for Bobcat fans but the MAC in general. For those who said that Cleveland's metro population is bigger that is true, but Akron is often in included in that feature which is more than a hop, skip and a jump away. Also, Cleveland's population has dropped in half since it peaked out in 1950. Columbus has practically doubled since 1950. As much as I admire Cleveland's history, the new money is in Columbus, which is why those Bobcat athletic officials I talked to at the Columbus event a couple of years ago were so gung ho for the tournament in Columbus. New money spends, old money saves.

One more fact, the MAC tournament in Columbus is not only a good way to catch up for alumni like myself who graduated nearly 30 years ago, it is a great way of socializing and networking for millennials. There are a lot more of those young folks who live in walking distance of Nationwide Arena and or a short drive away than there are from the Q. Finally the MAC tournament in Columbus is a big deal because the MAC has a huge fan base in Columbus that would treat the tournament as a once a year opportunity. In Cleveland a big deal is watching LeBron take on the Warriors or the Celtics, or any number of of popular NBA playoff contending teams. The MAC sort of loses its luster as a socializing event compared to that sort of high powered drama.

Really?

http://www.columbusunderground.com/residential-population...

http://www.clevescene.com/cleveland/how-downtown-became-c...

You keep making your argument, but you have no data to support it. In the end, it's just your opinion. You think it would do better there. Never mind that Cleveland is less than an hour from two MAC campuses with solid fan bases. Never mind the vast numbers of MAC alumni in significantly larger Greater Cleveland. Never mind the absolute dominance of Ohio State in Columbus. Never mind that it's failed there before.

You clearly can't be convinced with data or historical facts, so I guess you can make your pitch again in 2023... assuming the conference doesn't once again extend the Q contract before then.

Ha on the dime bag. : )

They still had some sort of Ohio Lottery promotion to get people in to the title game this year.

Being a MACC virgin this weekend, as well as a downtown Cleveland novice, I can honestly say, the destination and venue were both "meh". The people in our fan base are more important to me than the venue will ever be, and the fans that will travel will always travel, the one's that won't won't, IMHO.

Cleveland is closer to me, but the downtown aside from 4th just seems a little too bleak for my taste. Definitely prefer Cbus and Indy's vibes to "believeland".

I would prefer:

-Detroit just simply due to proximity to more schools, continuity of having both championships in the same market, and putting it in the new Wings arena, but as stated above that is out for now.

-Indy, but it is a little too far from most campuses.

-Columbus, but then you get all the tOSU BS that I hate and would detract from the time for me, plus I feel you lose something by being in the back yard of such a large fan base of another conference. I think the whole "home court" perception for us there is just wishful thinking, especially when you put it in an 18k arena instead of the former City Center. Nationwide definitely has it all over the Q as well, but just all the damn red and light black would make it a detraction for me.

So I guess Cleveland is as good a place as any.

OU Country: I really enjoyed our intelligent, pleasant discussion. We agree on somethings and disagree on others.

Recovering Journalist: As you can see from previous post I like Cleveland very much. However, I can only assume you have some beef against data and or Columbus. Now I am pretty decent at basic math, not so good at Advanced calculus and trigonometry. However, you make me look like some sort of mathematical whiz when you can't seem to get that Cleveland has more than half of it's population since 1950 and Columbus has gained more than half.

Columbus population
1950 375,901
2014 835,957

Cleveland population
1950 914,808
2014 389,581

Source: US Census

Below is a couple of articles about Columbus proper and Delaware County to the north. Here is a quote about the growth of Columbus.

“My mouth’s hanging open, actually,” said Nancy Reger, a demographer for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.

Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, lost almost 5,000 residents but remained the state’s largest. But if trends continue, Franklin would surpass Cuyahoga as the largest within four years.

“Franklin County has grown consistently for as long as I can remember, and that is absolutely amazing for a major urban county in the Midwest,” LaFayette said. “There probably aren’t any other counties anywhere in the Midwest, and probably not outside the Sun Belt, that are like us.”

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/03/15/...

But there are a few cities where wage growth has far surpassed those figures. Chief among them is Columbus, Ohio. The most recent analysis of hourly earnings by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that of metropolitan areas with populations of at least 1 million, Ohio’s capital recorded average hourly wage growth of 6.2%, edging out the San Francisco-Oakland region’s 6% as the nation’s highest.

http://fortune.com/2015/09/02/columbus-ohio-wage-growth /

The growth in and near downtown has been unbelievable, old buildings being converted to condos, new modern ones being built. Here is a picture and data of the Grandview Yard project, one of the largest in the Midwest, if not the country. This is just a few minutes from Nationwide.

http://www.grandviewyard.com/About/MasterPlan.aspx

Facts are stubborn things.