Why no Final Four at the Dome in the 80s/early 90s?

[FRANKIEFAN]

Rupp in 85 and the Pit in 83 hosted as did Kemper Arena in KC in 88.

We must have been close to getting one at the Dome at some point around then?

 

[dasher]

Rupp in 85 and the Pit in 83 hosted as did Kemper Arena in KC in 88.

We must have been close to getting one at the Dome at some point around then?

No. We don't have the hotel availability to have a final four.

 

[FRANKIEFAN]

No. We don't have the hotel availability to have a final four.

Syracuse can’t be far off ABQ/Lexington. Not saying we can get one now just wondering why it didn’t happen first decade or so of the Dome before the event got too big.

 

[br801]

No. We don't have the hotel availability to have a final four.

Yes, that was the reason.

 

[pfister1]

Syracuse can’t be far off ABQ/Lexington. Not saying we can get one now just wondering why it didn’t happen first decade or so of the Dome before the event got too big.

Dash answered you, but here are some sources to back up what he said.

Despite hosting three successful East Regional finals — the round before the Final Four — since 1997, Syracuse is never considered among potential locations for the Final Four because it fails to meet stringent criteria set by the NCAA. The city is woefully short of the 10,000 hotel rooms needed within a 20-mile radius, and the Dome lacks sufficient space to house media and hold press conferences. Only a handful of cities qualify to host the three-day-long bonanza and its built-in $50 million boost to the local economy.

Daily Orange Article 2002


But before he reads another letter to a local newspaper or receives another call about it, Pat Campbell wants you to know exactly what chance Syracuse has at hosting a Final Four.

‘Zero,’ he says. ‘Right now, with the way things are, it’s simply not possible.’

Campbell, the Carrier Dome managing director, has called the NCAA before, inquiring about the stipulations for hosting a Final Four. He last called in 2002, when Syracuse hosted the Regional, because the community buzzed with hope. Rather quickly, Campbell realized the Carrier Dome, the city and the community didn’t have the resources to host it.

Daily Orange Article 2005

 

[HoustonCuse]

Syracuse can’t be far off ABQ/Lexington. Not saying we can get one now just wondering why it didn’t happen first decade or so of the Dome before the event got too big.

Albuquerque is 4x bigger than Syracuse.

 

[Newhouser]

Direct flights or lack thereof also hurt our chances (after hotel product).