RF1

I will repost a post I made regarding this topic on another thread:

There have been some rumblings in Rhode Island that the soon to be renovated Dunkin Donuts Center (DDC) may make a bid for the tourney after the two year run in AC. Providence College has successfully run a PR campaign to get the state to spend 100 million to purchase it from the city and renovate the building (convenient for PC since their team plays there). One argument that has been used to justify this project is that a newly renovated building will attract big events. Since I expect that this endeavour (DDC purchase & renovation) will be a big money loser and the DDC will be very hardpressed to get events such as the NCAA's, I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a bid. There was some discussion on the local sports radio station about trying to get the A-10 tourney just this past Wednesday.

If the DDC does make a pitch for the A-10 tourney, I hope URI is in no way financially connected. The A-10 tourney has only really succeeded in Dayton. Part of the reason it did well in Dayton was that both fairly local teams UD and X were good at the time. The rabid loyal fanbase of UD and college basketball in that area was also another reason. I don't mind URI assisting the DDC in some logistical matters and mailing its season ticket holders A-10 Tourney data but I want URI to have absolutely no financial liability. I would want a relationship similar to what Xavier had in Cincinatti.
My reasons for this are that I am not confident that the tourney would succeed in Providence from an attendance perspective. If URI and UMass were good (very big ifs) at the time, it would certainly make things easier but this is not guaranteed. I also don't think the local college basketball fan would embrace the tourney as they more closely follow the Providence based Big East after having been indoctrinated by the local media for the last 25 years.

The DDC might not be bad for the tourney in some respects. It is not nearly as big as the US Bank Arena and Spectrum as the capacity is just over 13,000. The arena in well located in the downtown district close to the hotels, shopping, dining, bars, and entertainment establishments. The Amtrak station is blocks from the arena and it will soon be connected to the airport which is less than 10 miles from downtown. Providence also has route 95 which cuts through the city downtown and goes right by the back of the DDC.