Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy did a bit a grandstanding in the media about how Lambeau Field would be the perfect place to host the inaugural Big Ten title game in 2011, and formally threw the venerable stadium into the mix as a potential site, several weeks ago.
Well, the Big Ten didn’t give a shit.
As we expected, the conference selected Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium as the host site.
Unfortunately, it looks like there wasn’t even much discussion about the decision. Unlike other venues that were involved — Cleveland Browns Stadium, Detroit’s Ford Field and Chicago’s Soldier Field — the Big Ten approached Indianapolis to host the event. John Dedman, spokesman for the Indiana Sports Corp., said there was no formal bidding process.
Indianapolis also plays host to the Big Ten basketball tournament, both men’s and women’s.
On a positive note, Indianapolis only has a one-year contract for the game. The conference says it will conduct thorough research on potential locations for future championship games, so it’s possible Lambeau Field could get back into the mix.
“We felt at this time it was important to identify a site for the first championship game and then spend more time with other cities and venues with respect to both our basketball tournaments and the football championship games in the future,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement.
Hopefully, Lambeau Field will be seriously considered for future events, but frankly, thinking about it as a traveler, Green Bay seems like a long shot.
I’d prefer to stay in the potential host cities in this order:
1. Chicago
2. Indianapolis
3. Cleveland
4. Green Bay
5. Detroit
Frankly, Green Bay only beats Detroit because I can see family in Green Bay. Things such as amenities and local culture and nightlife probably don’t matter to everyone who might travel for a football game, but they definitely matter to some of us.
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