ESPN is reporting that the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament is leaving Atlantic City forBrooklyn in 2013. Given the current make up of the league I’m not sure how this makes any sense, given that there are no New York teams in the league.
The Atlantic 10 Conference will move its men’s basketball tournament to the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning with the 2013 tournament, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.com.
The Barclays Center will be the new home of the New Jersey Brooklyn Nets. The A-10 has one more year on its current deal to play the tournament in Atlantic City.
A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade is making attempts to get the A-10 more exposure in New York. The league is hosting its media day in Brooklyn on Oct. 13.
With all of the movement in conferences because of college football I don’t think this matters much for basketball. My guess is that the Atlantic 10 conference is cherry picked by the Big East to expand their basketball stronghold in the northeast. Temple, Xavier, Saint Josephsand Fordham all make sense on the court, logistically and constitutionally (as private catholic schools). This may make Barclays Arena a player for the Big East tournament after their contract expires with Madison Square Garden. I grew up on Big East basketball and this is a little emotional for me.
As it relates to Atlantic City, this takes a few thousand people away from a weekend during a fairly quiet time making this just another DEATH BLOW to the market.
Note: The New Jersey Nets will become the Brooklyn Nets.
Originally on AC2LV