Final Four At Ford Field
Depressed Detroit Will Come Alive With NCAA Semifinals
Ford Field had its debut last season as a basketball venue.
During the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament, the Detroit Lions new indoor football stadium was the sight of the Midwest Regional semifinal and final round games,
The venue passed with flying colors.
That’s why the 80,000 seat stadium will be the host to the 2009 NCAA Basketball Final Four starting on April 4, 2009 when Villanova, North Carolina, Michigan State and Connecticut get together to decide the national champion.
The city of Detroit could use the attention because it is without a doubt the most depressed major city in the United States with the decline of the American automobile industry.
While much of that city has abandoned skyscrapers and the like, Ford Field is a modern facility that opened only five years ago. Right next door is Comercia Park, the home of the Detroit Tigers baseball team.
Ford Field has Unique Feature
Most indoor stadiums that have basketball events put the court in one corner of the football field type arena. In some or most cases, the court will lye perpendicular in the end zone with a side of bleachers and a giant curtain making up the opposite end.
Ford Field tried something different last year in hosting its regional tournament.
The basketball court was put right in the middle of where the football field would be and it was elevated approximately five feet off the floor.
The seats surrounding it, including press and VIP sections, allowed for a maximum crowd to attend any of the games.
That should be the case when Michigan State faces Connecticut in the opening semifinal game on Saturday followed by Villanova and North Carolina in the nightcap.
The winners will play in the national championship game at 9 p.m. Monday, April 5 on CBS television and Westwood One Radio.
Villanova Played at Ford Field
Of the four teams to reach the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament, only Villanova has experience playing at the venue in a pla
The Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16 last season and played Kansas in a regional semifinal. The Jayhawks eventually routed Villanova and narrowly defeated upstart Davidson 59-57 in the regional final.
Kansas eventually moved on to win the national championship with a dramatic win over Memphis in the championship game.
But Villanova, who reached the Sweet 16 four times in the last seven years, will have experience playing at Ford Field on its side when play resumes Saturday.
Villanova fans remember where the team’s hotel was last year. It was the Detroit Sheraton Riverside Hotel, right across the street from the Cobo Center.
Michigan State Plays North Carolina at Ford Field in December
In what now serves as a preview of this year's Final Four, North Carolina and Michigan State played each other on Dec. 3 at the beginning of the 2008-09 season.
North Carolina, then the No. 1 team in the country, routed Michigan State 98-63 in front of 25,000 plus fans.
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