WHY GRAND RAPIDS HAS A SHOT AT HOSTING MARCH MADNESS
As millions watch March Madness, my thoughts jump to another competition – the NCAA Championships bid process, with 90 championships across 24 sports in three divisions up for bid periodically. I am going to make a bold statement – Grand Rapids has a good shot at being selected to host a DI Men’s March Madness basketball tournament if we play our cards right. Maybe it won’t be the Elite Eight or Final Four, but I have every confidence that our city can host First and Second Rounds.
Why do I feel so bullish about this? Here are seven reasons Grand Rapids has a shot as a March Madness host.
1.We’ve been here before – Grand Rapids isn’t new to bidding on NCAA DI Men’s March Madness basketball tournaments. The NCAA awards bids for all divisions in four-year cycles, and we bid in 2010 for 2015-2018 tournament years and 2014 for 2019-2022 years. In 2010, we didn’t get past the bid application process. In 2014, we made it to the site visit phase, with an NCAA representative coming to town and checking out our venues. In 2023, we have an opportunity to bid on the next round of NCAA events (2027-2030), and we will have even more to show for the growth of our destination.
Photo courtesy of Jordan Menard
2. We have a history with NCAA – The WMSC has a long-standing history of winning and hosting DII events with Grand Valley State University and DIII events with Calvin University for many national and regional championships. That includes DII events like Men’s and Women’s National Golf Championships, Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and Women’s Lacrosse Championships; and DIII events like Volleyball, Soccer, Cross-Country and Diving Regionals; and Women’s Basketball First and Second Rounds. We know how the NCAA works and what it needs to host a successful tournament because we’ve done it many times.
Photo courtesy of Gerald R. Ford International Airport
3. We’ve remedied concerns – When the NCAA came for a site visit in 2014, Grand Rapids was a different city. At that time, the NCAA’s biggest concerns about Grand Rapids as a host city for a DI basketball tournament were our airport (not enough airlines/direct flights for fans) and Van Andel Arena (outdated locker rooms, back-of-the-house limitations, and lack of consistent basketball operations). Since that time, Gerald R. Ford International Airport underwent a $50 million renovation and now has six airlines offering more than 100 daily flights plus 140 non-stop routes. In 2020, it kicked off a $110 million expansion that will add eight gates to accommodate projected passenger growth over the next 20 years. Van Andel Arena also completed extensive capital improvements in 2021 like upgrading locker rooms and back- and front-of-the-house areas, purchasing a new basketball playing floor, and installing an LED ribbon board. Now it’s working on a $2 million plaza makeover to beautify the exterior. Van Andel not only has been the home arena for the Grand Rapids Griffins AHL professional hockey team for over 25 years, but it was also the second-highest-grossing venue in the United States (and seventh worldwide) in 2019 for venues of its size.
4. Our strengths have only improved – In addition to improvements made to the NCAA’s areas of concern, Grand Rapids has only gotten better at what we do well. The NCAA already noted our walkable downtown district with access to hotels and restaurants. Yet we have grown our hotel capacity exponentially, from 7,500 rooms in 2010 to approximately 12,500 today, with several new hotel properties downtown. And our restaurant scene only continues to flourish. We also have hosted large-scale sporting events since 2014 – NCAA DII tournaments, State Games of America, and USA Masters Games to name a few – showing we know how to host large events, enlist partners, rally volunteers, secure sponsors, and sell tickets.
Photo courtesy of Experience Grand Rapids
5. NCAA wants new host cities – While the Elite Eight and Final Four have more stringent facility requirements and may go to previous host cities, the First and Second Rounds are more flexible on details like arena size. The NCAA also indicated it wants to showcase new hosts, with bid language stating that “consideration may be given to a host or competition venue that has not hosted the tournament most recently.”
Photo courtesy of Julie McGraw
6. We have great partners – A key NCAA bid requirement to host a March Madness event is for a DI partner institution or conference to host the tournament locally. While we don’t have a DI university in Grand Rapids, we have fantastic Big 10 and Mid-American Conference universities in the vicinity, with Western Michigan University (our partner in our 2010 bid application), Michigan State University (our 2014 partner, leveraging our late founder Peter Secchia’s relationships with Coach Izzo and former Athletic Director Mark Hollis), and others for consideration. We also have excellent community partners who can serve on our bid committee – Experience Grand Rapids, the City of Grand Rapids (City Manager Mark Washington expressed he wants to attract bigger events), Kent County, DII, and DIII universities, and local businesses who would be prime corporate sponsors.
7. We are a sports city – Grand Rapids loves sports. We love to play them, host them and watch them. Our city is home to the Grand Rapids Gold, an NBA G League affiliate to the Denver Nuggets, in addition to other professional sports teams the Grand Rapids Griffins and West Michigan Whitecaps. And when we host sports tournaments, people show up – whether the Meijer State Games of Michigan, Meijer LPGA Classic, or State Games of America.
A bid to host an NCAA DI Men’s Basketball tournament isn’t a slam dunk. It will take an extensive, coordinated effort with the right partnerships to create a strong bid proposal. We also don’t have a dedicated downtown basketball facility or a DI university in Grand Rapids. But we can address those details.
If the NCAA is looking for a new community to host First and Second Rounds of March Madness events where DI basketball would be a big hit and ticket sales would follow, they’ll have a winner with Grand Rapids.
