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Domes Are Where the Final Fours Are ... So Let's Build Some More!

The NCAA has insisted that the Final Four be held in a domed stadium. The last one that wasn't held in a dome was 1996, when East Rutherford, NJ played host.

Right now, Atlanta, Detroit, Glendale/Phoenix, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, San Antonio and St. Louis all have domed stadiums. Not so surprisingly, they are nine if the ten cities fighting for Final Fours from 2012 through 2016.

The tenth city is Dallas ... who will open their domed Cowboys Stadium next year.

There is also Miller Park in Milwaukee, Safeco Field in Seattle and Tropicana Field in St.Petersburg. Minute Maid Park in Houston and Chase Field in Phoenix are technically possibilities... but those areas already have better domed stadiums. Of those parks, only Tropicana Field has ever hosted a Final Four (or an NCAA Tournament game, for that matter) or is likely to do so again.

Long gone are the days where Albuquerque (site of NC State's magical upset over Houston), Salt Lake City (Magic vs. Bird), Kansas City (no one has held more Final Fours ... including UNC-Kansas triple overtime thriller), Greensboro (NC State ending UCLA's championship reign), College Park, MD (Texas Western-Kentucky) or the World's Most Famous Arena ... Madison Square Garden in NYC ... can host college basketball's premiere event.

Unless some more domes get built soon (as of now, none are on the way), these same cities will be hosting Final Fours and Regional Finals for years to come.

So ... c'mon! Let's build some more domes!!!! Maybe in a few basketball hotbeds, eh?

C'mon New York Metro! You are currently building three new stadiums and planning a renovation of Madison Square Garden. Why couldn't you have put a retractable dome on the new Giants/Jets Stadium? New York held six straight Final Fours in the 1940s. Can we get a Final Four and a Super Bowl in America's City?

Let's put a dome in Philadelphia! Philly has an outstanding basketball heritage locally and has held some pretty big college hoops moments (Laettner's shot to beat Kentucky; 1981 Final Four; Indiana's perfect season of 1976). Why not build a new dome in Philly? Who cares if none of the pro teams need one?

Let's put a dome in D.C.! Word is that the Redskins aren't too enamored with FedEx Field and may want a new stadium like what the Cowboys have. Again, slap on a retractable roof, a gazillion seats and we can get a Final Four (and one of those Super Bowls) there too! If we can finally get a baseball team there, we can get a Final Four!

How about the Research Triangle in North Carolina? I know, I know -- you skeptics don't like the idea of Duke or North Carolina "hosting" a Final Four. Still, is there any bigger hotbed for college hoops? Don't you think the ACC Tournament or an ACC football championship game could fill that sucker up, too? Even Maryland coach Gary Williams can get enough tickets to send his fans down the road.

Heck, the Kentucky Wildcats are looking at building a new arena ... why not build themselves a dome, too? You know that they'd have no problem filling that thing up with Big Blue fans! It can also double as the Cats' football venue too since, surprisingly, they support the football program no matter what. Lexington was the site of Villanova's monumental upset of Georgetown.

Cities like Miami, Los Angeles and Kansas City also would do nicely ... but they don't have domes, either.

I know that most/some of these ideas are quite a bit far-fetched. It is just that I don't like seeing the same cities getting the Final Four each year. Save the comments about "money" because it isn't news to us that the NCAA is filled with greed.

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