Big Ten Tournaments 2025-2028
Kramerica Industries
- Greenville, SC
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
For anyone that has trouble reading it like me, men’s:
25: Indy
26: Chicago
27: Indy
28: Vegas
25: Indy
26: Chicago
27: Indy
28: Vegas
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I'm actually more than okay with this. The BTT needs to be in a location where the league is not dependent on a couple of "local" teams to drive attendance. What would attendance in Minneapolis have looked like if the Badgers didn't make it all the way to Sunday to lose to us?
A lot of the classic passionate fan bases that travel well like Illinois, Indiana, MSU, etc. are just simply a very difficult trip from Minneapolis.While some locations are certainly better than others (e.g., New York has a decent alumni base for a few Big Ten schools vs. Omaha being almost entirely dependent on Nebraska and Iowa), I think there are only three locations that truly work, with the first two being the only "perfect" ones:
1. Chicago: While certain schools (namely our Illini) have more of an advantage than others, there are tens of thousands of alumni from several Big Ten schools in the Chicagoland Area, and it's easy to travel there for a lot of fan bases - whether due to physical proximity or because it's easy to fly. You can routinely count on big contingents from Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan and maybe even Ohio State or (gasp) Northwestern if that team is good that year. Only downside to Chicago is the location of the UC, but it has gotten better, and most fans are fine grabbing a beer somewhere cool like the West Loop and making the short Uber ride down.
2. Indianapolis: While Indy is a bit more reliant on Purdue and especially Indiana for large crowds, we also routinely see great showings from Illinois, MSU and (to a lesser extent) Ohio State and Michigan. It's also an achievable drive for Iowa fans. Plus, if we are being honest, hosting capabilities of Indianapolis are rather unmatched. The setup in Indianapolis' surprisingly nice/clean downtown next to all of those bars, and the city seems to more enthusiastically accept its role as "host," whereas it seems like just another daily event in Chicago.
3. Las Vegas: If the Big Ten is desperate to go west, this is the only real answer, IMO. It is notoriously easy to fly to Vegas, and people treat it like a true vacation (i.e., are more willing to pony up the money to make the trip vs. going to Milwaukee or Cleveland for the BTT). Look no further than how Illini fans absolutely took over Vegas two years ago ... most Big Ten and other Northern fan bases will jump at the chance to go somewhere warm(er) in early March, and Midwesterners rarely pass up a chance to combine sports and beer in a fun atmosphere.
Every other location either has a minor flaw (e.g., New York not really being Big Ten Country and only having sizable alumni populations from a few fan bases) or is just simply a bad choice (e.g., having it in Cleveland for no good reason and be almost entirely reliant on OSU fans to sell tickets).
What was the attendance like in 2017 in D.C.?
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
The lowest in BTT history, haha. I haven't added Minneapolis to this, but a long time ago I calculated the average attendance by location:
Chicago: 19,231
Indianapolis: 16,729
New York (MSG): 15,165
Washington, DC: 13,240
Worth noting that Indy's capacity is only 17,274 compared to 20,917 at the UC, but at the end of the day an additional butt in the seats is still more money for the conference.
EDIT: For fun, the top 5 highest average BTT attendance years:
1. 2001 in Chicago: 21,984
2. 2005 in Chicago: 21,770
3. 1998 in Chicago: 21,711 (inaugural BTT)
4. 2013 in Chicago: 20,757
5. 2000 in Chicago: 20,611
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Love the Vegas adds but hate only one Chicago
I understand trying The Garden but that's BIG EAST territory, that would be like the Big East saying "Hey let's do the tourney in Chicago one year"
Great post but I don't consider new york to have minor flaws but major. It's just out of price range for most fans.I'm actually more than okay with this. The BTT needs to be in a location where the league is not dependent on a couple of "local" teams to drive attendance. What would attendance in Minneapolis have looked like if the Badgers didn't make it all the way to Sunday to lose to us?
While some locations are certainly better than others (e.g., New York has a decent alumni base for a few Big Ten schools vs. Omaha being almost entirely dependent on Nebraska and Iowa), I think there are only three locations that truly work, with the first two being the only "perfect" ones:
1. Chicago: While certain schools (namely our Illini) have more of an advantage than others, there are tens of thousands of alumni from several Big Ten schools in the Chicagoland Area, and it's easy to travel there for a lot of fan bases - whether due to physical proximity or because it's easy to fly. You can routinely count on big contingents from Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan and maybe even Ohio State or (gasp) Northwestern if that team is good that year. Only downside to Chicago is the location of the UC, but it has gotten better, and most fans are fine grabbing a beer somewhere cool like the West Loop and making the short Uber ride down.
2. Indianapolis: While Indy is a bit more reliant on Purdue and especially Indiana for large crowds, we also routinely see great showings from Illinois, MSU and (to a lesser extent) Ohio State and Michigan. It's also an achievable drive for Iowa fans. Plus, if we are being honest, hosting capabilities of Indianapolis are rather unmatched. The setup in Indianapolis' surprisingly nice/clean downtown next to all of those bars, and the city seems to more enthusiastically accept its role as "host," whereas it seems like just another daily event in Chicago.
3. Las Vegas: If the Big Ten is desperate to go west, this is the only real answer, IMO. It is notoriously easy to fly to Vegas, and people treat it like a true vacation (i.e., are more willing to pony up the money to make the trip vs. going to Milwaukee or Cleveland for the BTT). Look no further than how Illini fans absolutely took over Vegas two years ago ... most Big Ten and other Northern fan bases will jump at the chance to go somewhere warm(er) in early March, and Midwesterners rarely pass up a chance to combine sports and beer in a fun atmosphere.
Every other location either has a minor flaw (e.g., New York not really being Big Ten Country and only having sizable alumni populations from a few fan bases) or is just simply a bad choice (e.g., having it in Cleveland for no good reason and be almost entirely reliant on OSU fans to sell tickets).
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
Las Vegas was added as a bone to USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon. However I agree that it will be popular location for all die hard B10 basketball fans. All other non Chicago and Indianapolis locations were terrible. See - Washington DC, NYC, and Minneapolis. Too far to drive for most B10 fans.
When people were concerned about Vegas getting pro sports because of gambling issues (which were well founded at the time), a lot of people didn't realize how a lot of fans would make weekends out of traveling to see their teams play. Heck, look at how many Bears fans were out in Vegas the last time they played there.
The BTT will never be in Cleveland. The MAC already has the main venue in that city booked that weekend and I'd be surprised if they left anytime soon.
Area around UC should be dramatically improving with the 10-year $7B investment by Reinsdorf and Wirtz familiesI'm actually more than okay with this. The BTT needs to be in a location where the league is not dependent on a couple of "local" teams to drive attendance. What would attendance in Minneapolis have looked like if the Badgers didn't make it all the way to Sunday to lose to us?
While some locations are certainly better than others (e.g., New York has a decent alumni base for a few Big Ten schools vs. Omaha being almost entirely dependent on Nebraska and Iowa), I think there are only three locations that truly work, with the first two being the only "perfect" ones:
1. Chicago: While certain schools (namely our Illini) have more of an advantage than others, there are tens of thousands of alumni from several Big Ten schools in the Chicagoland Area, and it's easy to travel there for a lot of fan bases - whether due to physical proximity or because it's easy to fly. You can routinely count on big contingents from Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Wisconsin, Purdue, Iowa, Michigan and maybe even Ohio State or (gasp) Northwestern if that team is good that year. Only downside to Chicago is the location of the UC, but it has gotten better, and most fans are fine grabbing a beer somewhere cool like the West Loop and making the short Uber ride down.
2. Indianapolis: While Indy is a bit more reliant on Purdue and especially Indiana for large crowds, we also routinely see great showings from Illinois, MSU and (to a lesser extent) Ohio State and Michigan. It's also an achievable drive for Iowa fans. Plus, if we are being honest, hosting capabilities of Indianapolis are rather unmatched. The setup in Indianapolis' surprisingly nice/clean downtown next to all of those bars, and the city seems to more enthusiastically accept its role as "host," whereas it seems like just another daily event in Chicago.
3. Las Vegas: If the Big Ten is desperate to go west, this is the only real answer, IMO. It is notoriously easy to fly to Vegas, and people treat it like a true vacation (i.e., are more willing to pony up the money to make the trip vs. going to Milwaukee or Cleveland for the BTT). Look no further than how Illini fans absolutely took over Vegas two years ago ... most Big Ten and other Northern fan bases will jump at the chance to go somewhere warm(er) in early March, and Midwesterners rarely pass up a chance to combine sports and beer in a fun atmosphere.
Every other location either has a minor flaw (e.g., New York not really being Big Ten Country and only having sizable alumni populations from a few fan bases) or is just simply a bad choice (e.g., having it in Cleveland for no good reason and be almost entirely reliant on OSU fans to sell tickets).
I agree that Chicago is the best option but disagree about the location being a downside(it's right in the heart of a top 2 US city), also supposedly Wirtz and the bulls are part of like a 7 billion dollar real estate Investment around the stadium though I think similar development around Wrigley killed a lot of its charm, but maybe they do it better(seems doubtful but if you actually invested that money the right way you could do a lot of good).
Also, I think you're underestimating Detroit. It's a great city and obviously going to have large contingents of Michigan, MSU, OSU, Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois fans that can easily travel there. I also think your underestimating how much fun it is to drink in Milwaukee.
Also, I always feel like all of the events/tourneys held in Vegas feel lifeless.
No one has ever underestimated Detroit.
Nah a lot of people do but it's a great American city with a ton of an incredible art deco architecture.
This post sounds like it was written by Detroit.
Really? You don't find yourself pining for art deco architecture when you're taking in a basketball tournament?
On the positive side I think murder season doesn't ramp up until May.
I love that style of architecture!!! Problem is, lots of that stuff is on the exterior of a building 5-10-50+ stories off the ground, lol. Better seen in books to get the full on feel for how awesome it is!
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
i’m not going to Detroit if Bob Seeger , Ted Nugent , & Kid Rock are paying me $500 each to go to a concert .
And if I did , going on an architectural tour on Friday or Saturday morning is one of the last things I would do their , & I actually really like the art deco style
And if I did , going on an architectural tour on Friday or Saturday morning is one of the last things I would do their , & I actually really like the art deco style
drsmitty74
- Rochester
I am.
He!! yeah, so am I!
Now I'm assuming the poster you were responding to was allowing their political bias to show through. I've listened to all 3 of those musicians many a time, and had them in my playlists, long BEFORE I even knew, or CARED, what their political affiliations were. Even today, I don't listen to anything, or not, based on what I know or think of their political ideaology. Crazy how politically BENT we've become here in the U.S. the past 10-15 years.....
All that aside, I'm planning on 2028 Vegas babyyyyyyy!
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