By Last Updated on June 5, 2014
What better way to make an entrance into a new conference than by breaking the NCAA’s all-time attendance record for an on-campus game? Syracuse is considering moving the basketball court to the middle of the Carrier Dome, as a one-time deal for the highly anticipated Duke game this upcoming season. The move to the middle of the court has the possibility of drawing in a crowd of 50,000 or more. The current record held by Syracuse is 30,012 set on February 23, 2013 when Syracuse hosted Georgetown for the last time as Big East rivals.
Moving the court would be Syracuse’s grand way of celebrating their recent membership into the ACC. Syracuse’s executive senior associate athletic director Joe Giansante told Syracuse.com, “We had a wedding in New York City on July 1,” referring to the ACC welcoming Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame to the conference. “But there still needs to be a reception. We’re not sure what we’re going to do for that yet, but it’ll be special.“
The notion of Syracuse moving to center court (literally) of the Dome is not authentic; the idea has made its way to the drawing board in the past but has always stayed there.
Unfortunatel,y everyone working on the Hill has a lot has to take into consideration before they pick up the pieces of the court and move them: (1) whether or not the fire marshal gives them the okay for the project, (2) figuring out wiring set up for television crews for a one-time basis, and (3) taking on the challenge of moving season ticket holders and not having any complaints.
The current forced seating arrangement to the one half of the dome makes it feel more intimate and as if it is a full house each game.
Having a single game in the middle of the field you can’t just have fans seated 70 yards back from the end zones of the court. And what about those with courtside seats, especially if they were to decide to play on a raised court?
Would making history and spending the money for one night outshine the hassle?
Duke isn’t the only big named program that the Orange will be hosting this season other teams include North Carolina in an ACC game and Indiana in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Whether or not Syracuse will move the court has yet to be confirmed or denied. The full basketball schedule will be released later this month soon following that tickets will go one sale, which is when we’ll find out whether or not Syracuse will be making history again.
“We’re going to look at all kinds of options to make our move to the ACC as special as possible,” Giansante said Thursday. ‘There are a lot of different things on the table to consider.”
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