NCAA Returning to IBA Arena in 2021

[1972Shocker]

Intrust Bank Arena has secured a future bid to host first- and second-round games for the 2021 men’s tournament to go along with hosting Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games for the Women in 2022.

Wichita fans must have made a good impression in 2011 (women) and this past season hosting the men.

https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/article215104415.html#emlnl=Afternoon_Newsletter

[AndShock]

It’s too bad we can’t ever host a men’s regional final.

[shock]

Can we host a Final Four?

[Boss1786]

Not unless we build a 70000 seat dome

[shock]

Hartman arena could do it

[ABC]

NBA arenas host regional finals all of the time.

[SHOCKvalue]

It’s too bad we can’t ever host a men’s regional final.

We’ll never host a regional final first and foremost because the incompetent boobs who lead the downtown arena planning and design 10-15 years ago couldn’t be bothered to realize such a thing.

Check out the shows and events that Tulsa’s 19K BOK Center and Omaha’s 18K CenturyLink Center get that bypass Wichita’s undersized IBA. Not to mention how IBA’s unsymmetrical design handicaps seating even further for end stage events.

I digress...

[shock]

Wow, has it been that long already? Dollars to donuts it was designed by a KU alum

[SHOCKvalue]

Voted on 2004

Planning/design/engineering 2004-2007

Built 2007-2009.

I’m guessing it was actually mostly designed by K-Staters. KU’s arch school plays little b***h to K-State’s.

[C0|dB|00ded]

The downtown arena was set at 15k for bball because there was no way the short-sided public would have voted it in at 17k. What's really amazing is that they didn't even build it for expansion. Had they at least done that, we would be at 17K today. This is your Wichita...


T


...:cool:

[Shocker_Power]

The good news is, there's plenty of parking for the first 100 attendees!

[C0|dB|00ded]

Thanks for helping me to relive the nightmare that was being on the Vote Yea! campaign and trying to explain to voters, who'd never left the city limits, that there is more than sufficient parking within a couple block radius of the arena; and NO, you will NOT be murdered walking two blocks in downtown Wichita. FML

Folks, we came within a gnats ass of having a revamped Cow Palace and continuing to schlep all the way out to lovely Park City.


T


...:cool:

[SHOCKvalue]

I think if Wichita had it all to do over again and the vote/specifications had been done today, we'd have a much, much more thought-out downtown arena. Wichita today seems to have developed a sense of self-awareness at thinking of ways to make Wichita suck less. Wichita 2004 was still all about "here hold my beer" on the scale of 500K-1M metros ranked by suckitude. We still have a long, LONG ways to go to catch up to our peers.

[WstateU]

I realize this is 'baby steps', but I continue to be impressed with the #ilovewichita campaign... it continues to gain traction and I see the flag everywhere.

http://blog.wichitachamber.org/more-ilovewichita-events-and-promotions-in-2018/

[WstateU]

Example for those who haven’t seen the #ilovewichita campaign...

https://www.instagram.com/p/Blbads8BnR0/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=12ghmndhewnq2

[Bluzrover]

I think success breeds success. I haven't lived in Wichita for 35 years so I don't feel I can comment on who did what and how shortsighted folks were. But I think it's great that IBA is hosting NCAA games at all. Wichita continues to be a basketball town and you all have done some really nice things downtown to give people things to do when they're down there. Do a good job with the ladies' Sweet 16 and Elite 8 and more men's games will follow. I think it's great for the city and IBA. You should embrace it. Some of the twitter trolls embarrass themselves with their negative comments about women's basketball.

[ShockerPhi]

IBA is one of the best things that has happened to Wichita. Sure it could have been a little better and bigger, but it's 1 million times better than the freaking Kansas Coliseum. As for parking, there's absolutely no issue. Don't be lazy.

The men and women's NCAA tournaments coming to town are just a couple of the awesome things that have come to Downtown Wichita thanks to this arena. Keep making downtown Wichita great!

[Bluzrover]

I've come back for the last three games at IBA as part of my annual trek back to see family. The game coincides nicely with my 90 year old dad's birthday, Christmas and brother's birthday. I was extremely impressed with IBA upon my first visit and haven't been disappointed, other than the outcome of the last two games, with it at all. Granted, it's not as big as most arenas, but it is definitely a very nice venue.

[Kel Varnsen]

I would doubt that we would be in the mix for an NCAA Men's Regional host, even if IBA were built better.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

Baby steps. IBA was as good as we could get considering the attitude of many Wichitans at the time. Also, many people had only been exposed to the Coliseum and had no clue what a real arena was like.

Now that IBA has proved most skeptics wrong, given a taste of a real arena experience to most people, and CAVERS are beginning to go into hiding (hopefully never to return), I think Wichita should and will swing for the fences and build a 18-19,000 seat arena when the time comes to replace IBA. Of course, that won't be for at least another decade or two.

I'll also throw in if you're STILL complaining about parking after ten years, there is no hope for you.

[Shockm]

I would doubt that we would be in the mix for an NCAA Men's Regional host, even if IBA were built better.

In your opinion, Omaha’s that much our superior?

[Kel Varnsen]

In your opinion, Omaha’s that much our superior?

Omaha has something like 300K more people in the metro area than Wichita does in its metro area. It has to be one of the smallest metro areas to have hosted an NCAA Men's Regional in the last 10-20 years. EDIT: Syracuse, NY appears to have a similar size to Wichita and they hosted a regional a few years ago. Interesting.

[Bluzrover]

Syracuse has the Carrier Dome which seats more than 35,000 (set an NCAA record at 35,446 attending an SU-Duke game) for basketball. And they regularly fill it. Syracuse is even more basketball crazy than Wichita. Why? You ever been to Syracuse in the winter?

Full disclosure, I did my undergraduate work at SU.

[SB Shock]

With WSU now being in the AAC, WSU could decide they need to invest in a bigger arena to bring in greater revenue and finance their athletic programs. If they did, I would hope they would be smart enough build it the right size to host NCAA tournaments.

[WstateU]

I've been critical of IBA (design/size), but it looks like they're doing something right...

Intrust Bank Arena earns international recognition

"Intrust Bank Arena is one of five venues to receive an international excellence award.

Announced on Wednesday, arena leaders learned Intrust had received an International Association of Venue Managers 2018 Venue Excellence Award.

Along with the Sedgwick County-owned arena, four other member venues also received the award — BOK Center in Tulsa; Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando; Shaw Conference Center in Edmonton, Alberta; and the Minneapolis Convention Center."


https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/...601&j=82911761