Vol. 4 No. 12, December 2007
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A Winning Hand
Thinking big makes Atlantic City act big
December kicks college basketball into full gear nationwide. For Atlantic City, it launches the countdown to the A-10 men’s tournament, which unfolds March 12-15.
Ten teams from the Atlantic 10 conference will compete here for an automatic bid to the NCAA March Madness tournament.
Atlantic City and the A-10 look to secure their own long-term victory. Their initial commitment was announced for two years, but three additional years appeared imminent throughout the fall. Boardwalk Hall is the odds-on favorite to host the A-10 event for many years.
The rights to host a tournament form a high-stakes business poker game. Let’s examine this tournament’s probable winning hand for the foreseeable future. It’s an administrative, economic royal flush.
Jeff Vasser: Ace of Diamonds
The executive director of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority held the key card in negotiations. He eliminated risk for the Atlantic 10 by guaranteeing ticket sales in the neighborhood of $700,000, roughly the amount previously paid for the Miss America pageant.
Up-front cash has an alluring aroma. The A-10 may no longer have to parade the event through different schools and worry about its revenue every two years.
For Atlantic City, it paid to think big. The investment brought several new players to town. Business owners from Ohio, in particular, found reasons to make the resort a weeklong destination. With Xavier and Dayton prominently placed in the resort’s secondary marketing tier, the tournament attracts those alumni here.
The Ohio principle again emerged in September. More than 5,000 boxing fans from Youngstown came to witness Kelly Pavlik’s Boardwalk Hall victory over Jermain Taylor. A new pocket of gamblers has emerged.
For Atlantic City, bankrolling the tournament was a form of pump-priming. It gained daily attention in the national media and garnered substantial return. The up-front guarantee is largely recouped in ticket sales, and what’s not can be labeled as an advertisement. With new players bound to return here, the ad will eventually be free.
Casinos, meanwhile, eye a big bang for very little buck. Look for an increase in ticket, hotel and activity packages this year, along with player parties. The tournament enables the city to work collectively.
“We were pleased with the results of our first year,” Vasser says. “Game On (sports bar, inside the Pier at Caesars) became an unofficial place for people to gather when their teams were not playing. We will see even more community and business effort this year. You will also see more of the alumni gathering themselves together and coming here, because this area has an abundance to offer.”
Atlantic City: King of Diamonds
It served as a Mid-March getaway for those who could not escape to Florida. Game On, the growing Pier at Caesars, the Walk and the Quarter became economic anchors for Atlantic City. Don’t forget the nearly $1 billion in renovations being completed at Borgata and Harrah’s. Trump also has invested heavily in the future of Atlantic City.
The long-term success of the tournament depends heavily on “the King.” The A-10 will have up and down years. It may not be easy to convince the alumni of the sixth-place regular-season team to watch a tournament the school probably won’t win. But give that person a slew of other games—blackjack, roulette, craps and poker—and the destination outweighs tournament results.
The citywide construction has been described by some executives as a phenomenon that might occur twice every 100 years. Collectively, this is the ultimate tiebreaker for hosting rights.
Linda Bruno: Queen of Diamonds
The Atlantic 10 commissioner wants a permanent home for the tournament. The process of bidding out the event, accepting proposals and meeting with different groups drains energy. A long-term deal for the A-10 would resemble a politician relieved of costly campaigning every two years.
Bruno also realizes the value of an adult-themed casino town, complemented by shopping, that places it above competitors.
“Atlantic City did a good job showing it was a destination resort,” Bruno says. “It was a positive experience. When you have the tournament in one location, like the Big East conference does in New York, the fans become familiar with what to do in the area. They plan to come and stay.”
Bruno, based in Philadelphia, completed the deals with Vasser. Moving forward, she is a proponent in Atlantic City’s corner.
Boardwalk Hall: Jack of Diamonds
This was a visual, aesthetic upgrade for the A-10. Teams competed in the spiffy, historic venue, known for its $90 million renovation and unique domed structure. It is loaded with intangibles—state-of-the-art media facilities, spacious locker rooms and tremendous sight lines. Boardwalk Hall has been selected as Billboard Magazine’s top venue of its size—in the world. Bringing a tournament to Boardwalk Hall enables the A-10 to make a statement.
Furthermore, eight of the 11 games were played on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a midweek hoop purist’s dream.
Neutrality, Proximity: 10 of Diamonds
Consider the desirable location Atlantic City presents to this drive-in market.
St. Joseph, LaSalle and Temple are based in Philadelphia. Rhode Island, George Washington, Fordham, St. Bonaventure and UMass represent reasonable drives. Rhode Island fans helped pack over 6,000 fans into the weekend finale of the 2007 tournament.
Duquesne, Xavier and Dayton have long drives, but made them last year. Richmond fans make the drive. Only Charlotte and St. Louis face the likelihood of flying, and would probably do so no matter where the tournament was.
Remember the stakes—a trip to the postseason. Teams hate deciding their season in another team’s building. George Washington capitalized on a neutral court by winning the 2007 A-10 tournament here after finishing third during the regular season.
This is a tricky card, though. Mohegan Sun has its own basketball arena in Connecticut. If officials decided their gaming audience (UMass, Rhode Island, Fordham, St. Bonaventure) sat in the A-10, they might make a play for it. It’s an unlikely possibility, and Mohegan Sun would probably seek something bigger, but it underscores why Atlantic City would enjoy a long-term deal.
Maybe it would pay to have something else. And Atlantic City does.
Wild Card: Jim Whelan
A friend in high places. New Jersey Senator-elect Jim Whelan has guided Vasser on administrative A-10 matters and knows something about the conference. Whelan is not only a Temple graduate, but was inducted into its Hall of Fame as a championship swimmer.
Whelan attended the A-10’s media day in October, and is a big fan of the tournament. He gives the event a higher profile, and perhaps a lobbying element if it was on the verge of leaving.
