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ACC decides not to put basketball tournament in Ga. Dome in 2012

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Oct 25, 2009

The ACC men’s basketball tournament will be held in Atlanta in 2012 at Philips Arena, commissioner John Swofford announced Sunday.

The game will not be held in the Georgia Dome, Swofford said, as it was in 2009.

Tickets for the 2009 tournament were plentiful, and some schools had trouble selling their full allotment. Part of that was the difficult economy and part the massive size of the venue.

Swofford said the decision was about “protecting one of the most sought-after tickets in all sports.”

“This was a visceral kind of decision, that this was the right place to be in Atlanta in the future,” Swofford said.

The 2009 tournament drew a total of 158,112 fans and each session averaged 26,352 fans.

Philips Arena seats 18,729 for basketball, according to its website.

Karl Hicks, the ACC's associate commissioner for men's basketball, said the league did not have a contract with the Georgia Dome. He said he expected Philips Arena to seat more than 20,000 for the tournament.

The 2010 and 2011 tournaments will be in the Greensboro Coliseum. The tournament also will be in Greensboro from 2013-2015.

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By Liam
Posted Oct 25, 7:10 p.m.

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RE: ACC decides not to put basketball tournament in Ga. Dome in 2012

Somebody needs to investigate this. Something is very wrong in their excuse to relocate to the Phillips Arena. I smell a rat and they need to start with Swofford.

By royhill1964
Posted Oct 25, 6:58 p.m.

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RE: ACC decides not to put basketball tournament in Ga. Dome in 2012

^Agreed!

By RedIrish
Posted Oct 25, 4:27 p.m.

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RE: ACC decides not to put basketball tournament in Ga. Dome in 2012

So they averaged over 26k per session last year and decided that the venue was too large so they switch to a place that even sold out reduces the average by more than 20%. It amazes me the stupid things people can do once they reach a high level and they keep their job while normal people that actually work hard for a living are facing layoffs, evictions, and having their health care cut off.

By foetine
Updated Oct 25, 3:45 p.m.

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RE: ACC decides not to put basketball tournament in Ga. Dome in 2012

The nosebleeds at the Dome should be cheaper than they were last year. Swafford doesn't care about the kids - it's all about making fat dollars for his backers. Perhaps Swafford has ties with an online ticket scalper? It does stubhub no good if people can merely walk up to the box office and buy their tickets at retail. There were rumors about certain athletic departments that would have their underlings scalp tickets in Gboro as part of a Christmas bonus scheme. Their people were marked so the cops wouldn't drag them in like the regular schmoe scalpers.

By Liam
Posted Oct 25, 3:37 p.m.

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RE: ACC decides not to put basketball tournament in Ga. Dome in 2012

So, the reason for going to Phillips Arena instead of the Ga. Dome is to make their tickets more valuable by selling out the arena instead of having more seats and opportunities for regular guys to take their kids to the ACC tournament. Swofford sounds like he's got the GREED in him. Have it in the Ga. Dome so everybody can go to the tournament instead of a choice few who can afford it.