In case you haven't heard, the Rose Garden is making a bid to host the Pac-10 tournament in 2008. Normally, I think that John Canzano of the Oregonian is one of the most irresponsible journalists out there. However, he reveals some insights about the Rose City's bid for the Pac-10 tournament.
Since the inception of the tourney, it has been held in Staples Center in Los Angeles. And seeminly without any other thought. This is the first year that they have even allowed bidding on the event. Apparently, this is becasue Fox Sports owned a minority intrest in the Staples Center until this year. And the Pacc-10 has no say where the tourney is held, it is soley up to Fox. They owned part of the building, so that's where the tourney was held. Now, they no longer own a share of Staples, so it is up for grabs.
Canzano says that the Rose Garden's bid is very aggressive, and that the city is behind the movement. So we could see the Pac-10 tournament in Oregon very soon. And people would actually go to games here, it would be much unlike a half-empty Staples Center. And apparently the bid is for three years, so it would stay for awhile.
This is a move I've been anticipating for a few years, but it doesn't go far enough. Pac-10 basketball is based on five regions--Southern and Northern California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. Each of these regions has an NBA arena. To me it makes sense to rotate the tournament evey year, so that each region hosts the event once evey five years. LA, Seattle, Oakland, Portland, and Phoenix all have large arenas, so what's the deal? Why should LA always get the home advantage? Besides, having it in LA every year just expands on the myth that LA is the only town in the west, whereas in reality LA is the crappiest sports town in the nation.
Here's hoping we see the tourney in Portland in '08!
GO DUCKS!!!
--Dave