The SEC has opened bidding for the SEC baseball tournament, and five cities will compete against Hoover to host the tournament. Hoover has hosted the end of season baseball tournament since 1998. I for one would like to see the baseball tournament moved every couple of years.
The cities bidding for the tournament are Memphis, Duluth, Ga., Jacksonville, Fla., Jackson, Miss., Little Rock, Ark., and Montgomery, Al. I personally think Duluth and Jacksonville would be great host sites. Maybe alternate sites near SEC East/SEC West schools every other year, so that more people from schools other then Alabama could attend on a regular basis.
Jacksonville hosted the ACC tournament from 2005 – 2008 with some success. It is hard to compare a sports crazy conference like the SEC with a basketball only conference like the ACC. With that being said, if Florida or UGA were in the tournament, I would expect large crowds to attend. Alabama fans would still travel, I am pretty sure they would attend just about any sporting event that involved the Tide.
Memphis’ AutoZone Park is a great stadium, that would also do a great job of hosting the tournament. Ranked the nation’s top minor league ballpark last year, it has a capacity of 14,320. AutoZone Park is located right downtown Memphis, so it could also add to the tourist destination for the tournament. I am not saying Birmingham isn’t a tourist destination, but after visiting last year for the Papa John’s bowl, I can think of a couple of cities I would rather go to before going back.
Duluth is also a great option for the SEC, as Atlanta is a perfect fit for the SEC football championship and SEC basketball tournament. Coolray Field, home of the AAA Gwinnett Braves is a nice field that can see over 10,000 as well. The problem with Duluth is available hotels near the actual stadium.
I am glad the SEC is considering changing locations, and think that this could be a good thing for the conference. Any thoughts or options on moving the baseball tournament to a different location?
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