STrib: Gophers basketball game at U.S. Bank Stadium now expected for December 2018

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per Marcus:

The Gophers men’s basketball team won’t be playing at U.S. Bank Stadium this year as previously planned, but the test game before the 2019 Final Four is expected to be in December 2018.

The original plan was for the Gophers to play a team yet to be determined this winter because extra seating is scheduled to be partially installed in the spring, but the game date was moved.

“Having the game closer to our event will make it a little bit more exciting and more of a draw,” said Kate Mortenson, President and CEO of the 2019 Final Four local organizing committee. “We don’t know the opponent yet, but it’s going to be exciting. Especially with the season the Gophers had really helps us position for a very exciting basketball event inside of U.S. Bank Stadium. Kind of a little taste of our Final Four in 2019.”

The Final Four in Minneapolis is scheduled for April 6-8, 2019. There is no NCAA regional set as a warmup in 2018. The University of Minnesota will be the host school for the 2018 game and the Final Four.

The NCAA will attend the test game and event to make sure the stadium meets its basketball standards for the Final Four. Mortenson said the date of the opponent announcement and when tickets will be available are not known at this time.

"But we will be aiming to make it an event unto itself in addition to the 'test game'," she said. "It's a big deal."

Gophers coach Richard Pitino said last year that he was working with the U to “bring in a really good opponent.” The fact that the game was moved to 2018 means that next year’s recruiting class will get to play at U.S. Bank Stadium.

That should be big selling point for Minnesota’s 2018 class, which already includes Cretin-Derham Hall four-star junior big man Daniel Oturu. But Pitino is also targeting other local players in the class, such as Apple Valley’s Tre Jones, Armstrong’s Race Thompson and DeLaSalle’s Gabe Kalschuer.

http://www.startribune.com/gophers-...ium-now-expected-for-december-2018/418359163/

Go Gophers!!
 

The benefit of having the game in December 2018, teams who believe they will be Final Four contenders (i.e., traditional blue bloods) will be much more eager to get a chance to play on the court, see the dimensions, etc. which could give us a marquee matchup.

Go Gophers!!
 

I'm (perhaps naively?) hopeful they can make an all-day event out of it. Something like Iowa State vs Wisconsin in game one, Minnesota vs Kansas in game two. A sort of Upper Midwest Crossroads Classic. It'd be something to see and I'd want to get tickets to the whole thing.
 

I hope a few months is enough to work the kinks out before the Final Four. There will be some. I always thought it was a good idea having the regional the season before so any glitches could worked out. Also was nice to have regionals here as well.

Would also be thrilled to get a double header out of it somehow. I don't think it's at all naive to try make it a regional event. More bucks for the stadium people and tourism downtown. If they think they can pull it off, I would think they would try.
 

Holy Man said:
I hope a few months is enough to work the kinks out before the Final Four. There will be some. I always thought it was a good idea having the regional the season before so any glitches could worked out. Also was nice to have regionals here as well.

Would also be thrilled to get a double header out of it somehow. I don't think it's at all naive to try make it a regional event. More bucks for the stadium people and tourism downtown. If they think they can pull it off, I would think they would try.
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Don't think we'd get a regional or at least in that building. I don't know if it's a formal rule or not but sounds like they're done having regionals in football stadiums.
 


It should be a three game event:

1PM: Iowa vs. UCLA/Louisville

4PM: Wisconsin vs. Iowa State

7PM: Gophers vs. Duke/UNC/Kentucky

Now that would be an event! Would draw in NBA recruiters and a bunch of media along with the Wisconsin and Iowa fan bases!
 

Gopher07 said:
Throw in an AM game, NDSU vs SDSU and you've got somethin'
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I thought of that, but it may end up like me playing one on one in a high school gym.

Would be better to make it a B1G showcase and have Northwestern, Illinois or one of the Michigan schools.

Noon: MSU vs. Kansas

3PM: Iowa vs. Louisville

6PM: Wisconsin vs. UCLA

9PM: Gophers vs. Kentucky/Duke

That would be pretty awesome!
 

Otis said:
It should be a three game event:

1PM: Iowa vs. UCLA/Louisville

4PM: Wisconsin vs. Iowa State

7PM: Gophers vs. Duke/UNC/Kentucky

Now that would be an event! Would draw in NBA recruiters and a bunch of media along with the Wisconsin and Iowa fan bases!
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Throw in an AM game, NDSU vs SDSU and you've got somethin'
 

Maybe for next year they could schedule a "neutral" site game at the newly renovated Target Center, as long as it's not the Challenge game. Play a team like UCONN, Washington or Mizzou, someone a long those lines
 



Not interested in giving our regional recruiting rivals extra firepower when going after our best in state recruits. I will never understand you guys lobbying to include Wisconsin and Iowa State. Do you think they are scheming way to give us opporunities to showcase our program on one of their big stages?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 

MadtownGopher said:
Not interested in giving our regional recruiting rivals extra firepower when going after our best in state recruits. I will never understand you guys lobbying to include Wisconsin and Iowa State. Do you think they are scheming way to give us opporunities to showcase our program on one of their big stages?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
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Except that has no impact. Someone is going to choose Wisconsin or Iowa St. over the Gophers because they all played at US Bank Stadium? Do you think a Minnesota recruit has never heard of those schools until they showed up in Minneapolis?

A recruit goes to a school because they liked the school and the coaching staff. Not because they played 1 game at a neutral site.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Except that has no impact. Someone is going to choose Wisconsin or Iowa St. over the Gophers because they all played at US Bank Stadium? Do you think a Minnesota recruit has never heard of those schools until they showed up in Minneapolis?

A recruit goes to a school because they liked the school and the coaching staff. Not because they played 1 game at a neutral site.
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If Wisconsin is scheduled to play at US Bank Stadium at some point in the future, they can use it as an extra perk when they come into Minnesota to recruit. "Hey, you'll still get to play in front of your family at US Bank Stadium if you come to Wisconsin." Maybe it's not so much of an extra perk for them as it neutralizes ours.

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Why give that to Wisconsin or Iowa State?
 

MadtownGopher said:
If Wisconsin is scheduled to play at US Bank Stadium at some point in the future, they can use it as an extra perk when they come into Minnesota to recruit. "Hey, you'll still get to play in front of your family at US Bank Stadium if you come to Wisconsin." Maybe it's not so much of an extra perk for them as it neutralizes ours.
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Wisconsin already plays in Minnesota most years. As of now, this is a one time deal. Not every year.
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Wisconsin already plays in Minnesota most years. As of now, this is a one time deal. Not every year.
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But why give them that opportunity. This is a cooler and more unique opportunity than playing a conference game at the Barn (or Kohl Center). Do you think they'd invite us to play at the new Bucks arena when it opens in a couple of years?

But whatever, I think it is pointless to debate this, I don't see Coyle or Pitino inviting Wisconsin to play in something like this.
 

MadtownGopher said:
But why give them that opportunity. This is a cooler and more unique opportunity than playing a conference game at the Barn (or Kohl Center). Do you think they'd invite us to play at the new Bucks arena when it opens in a couple of years?

But whatever, I think it is pointless to debate this, I don't see Coyle or Pitino inviting Wisconsin to play in something like this.
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Would you be upset if we let the Jackrabbits play here?

If your worried about giving teams recruiting help your admitting your team is 2nd division.
 

MadtownGopher said:
But why give them that opportunity. This is a cooler and more unique opportunity than playing a conference game at the Barn (or Kohl Center). Do you think they'd invite us to play at the new Bucks arena when it opens in a couple of years?

But whatever, I think it is pointless to debate this, I don't see Coyle or Pitino inviting Wisconsin to play in something like this.
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Why give anyone the opportunity? Duke, Carolina, UCLA ... they could all poach guys from the area and use it as a selling point. You have to have an opponent so regardless you're going to give someone a unique opportunity.

I see your point, hate the Badgers, but I think it's so minor as to be outweighed by the chance to treat the fans by putting on a festival-like atmosphere and getting the major fan bases in the area together in a celebration of college basketball (not unlike the Final Five used to be at the X for hockey).
 

Otis said:
Would you be upset if we let the Jackrabbits play here?

If your worried about giving teams recruiting help your admitting your team is 2nd division.
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What other schools invite their arch rivals to participate in prime time neutral site match ups like this? Has it ever happened? I think most A.D.'s and coaches realize there isn't a lot of upside for them to invite rivals when they are controlling the event.
 

MadtownGopher said:
But why give them that opportunity. This is a cooler and more unique opportunity than playing a conference game at the Barn (or Kohl Center). Do you think they'd invite us to play at the new Bucks arena when it opens in a couple of years?

But whatever, I think it is pointless to debate this, I don't see Coyle or Pitino inviting Wisconsin to play in something like this.
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Maybe? I just don't see how it is more of a selling point for a regional program than it is for the Gophers. I also think it's one of the last things a recruit would care about if they were deciding between Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Iowa St.
 

RatherBeGolfing said:
Don't think we'd get a regional or at least in that building. I don't know if it's a formal rule or not but sounds like they're done having regionals in football stadiums.
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And thank god for that. I do hope the Target Center gets a regional or is used as a 1st/2nd round site once the renovations are complete. Though that could be difficult to get scheduling-wise with the high school tournaments being played there.
 

Otis said:
It should be a three game event:

1PM: Iowa vs. UCLA/Louisville

4PM: Wisconsin vs. Iowa State

7PM: Gophers vs. Duke/UNC/Kentucky

Now that would be an event! Would draw in NBA recruiters and a bunch of media along with the Wisconsin and Iowa fan bases!
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And why would we want to help Iowa and Wisconsin get national attention? Maybe if we get all the profit. Otherwise, they can get their own national games before the final four hits the quad cities...
 

MadtownGopher said:
But why give them that opportunity. This is a cooler and more unique opportunity than playing a conference game at the Barn (or Kohl Center). Do you think they'd invite us to play at the new Bucks arena when it opens in a couple of years?

But whatever, I think it is pointless to debate this, I don't see Coyle or Pitino inviting Wisconsin to play in something like this.
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There would be no point of the Gophers playing in the Bucks arena, because it will an arena and would not impact attendance much. Having Wisconsin and Iowa State gives a much better chance of filling up a 70,000 seat Stadium.

More cash for all.

Besides the Bucks arena will be Marquette's crib. Hope the Gophers get a home and home on the books with them, or a Gavitt game on a Friday or Saturday nite.
 

They really should be playing at TCF Bank Stadium. That's their campus home.
 

No need to invite Wisconsin, Iowa or Iowa State for a 2nd game. I could see a game of Augsburg vs St Thomas and then a game of SDSU vs UNO or something like that. But why would anyone want a rival to have a showcase game here? That makes no sense. The main attraction without any doubt should be the Gopher game. And to those thinking they should try and sell 70,000 seats dont understand the point of this game. This game is for a dry run. They probably will plan on 25-30k for this game. You can easily do that with mainly Gopher fans with a good matchup in a unique venue like US Bank Stadium if tickets are priced right. This is an event for the organizers to work out the kinks to prepare for the real deal, not to try and set an attendance record.
 

DLguy said:
No need to invite Wisconsin, Iowa or Iowa State for a 2nd game. I could see a game of Augsburg vs St Thomas and then a game of SDSU vs UNO or something like that. But why would anyone want a rival to have a showcase game here? That makes no sense. The main attraction without any doubt should be the Gopher game. And to those thinking they should try and sell 70,000 seats dont understand the point of this game. This game is for a dry run. They probably will plan on 25-30k for this game. You can easily do that with mainly Gopher fans with a good matchup in a unique venue like US Bank Stadium if tickets are priced right. This is an event for the organizers to work out the kinks to prepare for the real deal, not to try and set an attendance record.
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So you prepare for a Final Four crowd by trying to sell only 1/3 of the seats? I'm sorry but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
So you prepare for a Final Four crowd by trying to sell only 1/3 of the seats? I'm sorry but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
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Agreed. No reason it can not be both preparation for the Final 4 and a cash grab.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
So you prepare for a Final Four crowd by trying to sell only 1/3 of the seats? I'm sorry but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.
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Because this game isnt for a cash grab. It is for the NCAA to use this event as a dry run.

Also, do you think all these teams are going to come for free that are needed to sell out the venue? You can't pay 5 big time schools to play and expect to make a profit.
 

There's way too much paranoia about having Iowa State, Wisconsin, etc., take part in this. Big deal. Trust your coach. Pitino is showing some serious recruiting chops, let's trust that will continue. I doubt he's afraid of Steve Prohm or Greg Gard.

Would love to see a double- or tripleheader at the Vikings Ship. Sign me up.
 

Why have any B1G team play in the event? Invite Marquette if you are desperate for Wisconsin fans' money.
 

SelectionSunday said:
There's way too much paranoia about having Iowa State, Wisconsin, etc., take part in this. Big deal. Trust your coach. Pitino is showing some serious recruiting chops, let's trust that will continue. I doubt he's afraid of Steve Prohm or Greg Gard.

Would love to see a double- or tripleheader at the Vikings Ship. Sign me up.
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The Gophers played in a similar double header when they beat Louisville in '08 at Phoenix stadium. Arizona State played a top 25 team in a double header as a test run for a final 4 in AZ. I definitely would love to see the Gophers vs a blueblood and one of our neighboring schools vs a blue blood or each other

Imagine Marquette vs Iowa, Wisconsin vs Iowa State and Gophers vs Kansas as the Finale
 

MadtownGopher said:
Why have any B1G team play in the event? Invite Marquette if you are desperate for Wisconsin fans' money.
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Invite them both so they can hate on one another in the opposite game.
 

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