Letter to Dr. Jon Steinbrecher

Letter

Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer announced that he has written a personal letter to the Commissioner of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), Dr. Jon Steinbrecher, encouraging him to give the Men's and Women's NCAA MAC Conference Basketball Tournaments a permanent home in Buffalo. Right now, the sites for the tournaments are moved every year, making the MAC Conference's stated desire to hold both men's and women's tournaments in the same city very challenging. The tournament organizers are currently in the middle of an 18 month search for a permanent home for the tournament, starting in 2012. The location has to be able to handle both the men's and women's tournaments simultaneously, and be close to a participating school. Schumer said that Buffalo is an ideal location for the MAC tournaments because Buffalo features two state of the art facilities, the University of Buffalo is a member of the MAC, and because Buffalo is a great sports town with the proper infrastructure to hold a high profile event.

"As someone who grew up playing hoops and loves the game, nothing would make me happier than to see this tournament parked permanently in Buffalo," Schumer said. "Anyone who has been to an athletic event in Buffalo knows what a great sports town it is, and having March Madness kickoff there will only add to its reputation."

Since its inception in 1946, the Mid-American Conference (MAC) has progressively grown and developed into one of the most aggressive Division I conferences in the country. Today, the MAC boasts championship caliber teams in all sports and consistently attracts thousands of fans to its athletic events. More recently, MAC sporting events have been broadcasted on ESPN, giving the conference a national profile. The MAC is also the home conference of the University of Buffalo, which boasts an array of competitive athletic teams.

Each year, men's and women's NCAA Division I basketball teams compete in year-end conference tournaments. Generally, the winner of a conference tournament is guaranteed a spot in the NCAA tournament field. In some years, a conference like the MAC may only receive one bid to the NCAA tournament so the conference tournament takes on even more importance. Conference tournaments often attract thousands of fans and national media coverage, bringing the MAC tournament to Buffalo would provide an incredible economic boost to the city.

Buffalo is an ideal location for a conference tournament. The city is home to two state of the art facilities, HSBC Arena and Alumni Arena. These facilities hold thousands of fans and offer a host of excellent activities that would entertain the throngs of fans that generally show up for a big-time conference tournament. Buffalo is also easily accessible by affordable air, train, and bus carriers and has 1,800 hotel rooms of various price ranges in close proximity to the arenas. It's also very likely that a potential tournament would coincide with Buffalo's Restaurant Week, allowing the city to show off its famous dishes to the thousands of out of state fans who will come to town for the tournament and spend their money in the city. The full text of the letter that Schumer wrote to Dr. Steinbrecher is below.

Schumer added, "Having the MAC conference tournament in Buffalo is a win-win-win. It's a win for Buffalo's economy, a win for the players and a win for the NCAA."

March 3, 2010
Dr. Jon Steinbrecher
Commissioner, Mid-American Conference
24 Public Square, 15th Floor
Cleveland, OH, 44113
Dear Commissioner Steinbrecher,
I am respectfully writing to encourage you to consider the HSBC and UB Alumni Arenas in Buffalo, New York as sites for the Mid American Conference's Annual Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments when your current commitment to host the Championships at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio expires in 2011.

The 18,690 seat arena is a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue that is home to the Buffalo Sabres. It will also host the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament later this March. The State University at Buffalo Alumni Arena can accommodate 6,100 fans for women's basketball. This arrangement will provide a solution to your conference's desire to develop a fiscally responsible plan to arrive at two 12-team tournaments at separate venues in the same city by 2012.

Buffalo is easily accessible by affordable air, train, and bus carriers from all of your member institutions and has 1,800 hotel rooms of various price ranges in close proximity to the arena. In addition, your annual conference tournaments would correspond with restaurant week in Buffalo, an event that will allow your fans the opportunity to sample some of Buffalo's famous dishes.

Permanently holding the conference championships in Buffalo would be a huge success for your conference, for Western New York's local economy, and for your student-athletes, students, alumni, and fans. If there is anything my office can do to help make this suggestion a reality, please let me know. I greatly appreciate your consideration.
Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

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