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Okay, completely procrastinating from work.
As someone who went to a Big XII school and grew up in SEC country, I think that Lambeau Field has everything the Big 10 would want at a playoff venue, save weather control. Location relative to the schools is only important in the sense that it has to be accessible. I wouldn't worry about Wisconsin perceived as having a homefield advantage over Nebraska (tee hee) or Penn State. However, it will have to sell that it's a good place for 70,000 fans to spend a weekend and overcome the perception that it will be a snow-fest in December (FWIW, I think snow games are a novelty, but not something I'll watch four quarters' worth on TV).
In the SEC/Big 12 championship games, the factors are city size/accommodations, payout, promotions, and venue. The SEC game's been in Atlanta forever, because it's a huge dome that hosts NFL and Super Bowls, and people like to party in Atlanta. I'm sure the income is good for the SEC. The Big 12 went from Arrowhead to Cowboys Stadium because the South teams were grousing about their fans' travel and Jerry Jones ego is only bested by his money-printing ability.
The big thing Lambeau has going for it is it's ambience/mystique. In the constantly upgrading NFL and college games, there aren't many sites that qualify as historical. I'm biased as a Packer fan, but I don't think that anyone would have a "meh" reaction to Lambeau Field as a championship venue. People will want to see and be at this game, even if they're not diehard fans of either team.
Championship game tickets usually get bought up at the tailend of the regular season, then resold once the matchup is set. I don't think fans will care too much about the "where," especially since this is the inaugural game.
However, the conference is looking for something else in addition to a "sellable" game: Is this a place they can pull off an entertaining broadcast and weekend? Is this more than the Applebees-fest that the dumbass Longwell sold it as? Will the first championship make fans and networks pay more for the second one? Green Bay has to compete with a city/stadium that's hosted a Super Bowl and doesn't have to prove it can take in 60,000+ fans for the weekend.
What Green Bay needs to do is sell up the tradition of Lambeau Field to the Big Ten (make it THE PLACE to have the first championship), explain that the venue and staff are equipped for major broadcast logistics and how the city can handle X many people flying/driving into Green Bay in the weekend. Highlight what a Championship Weekend in Green Bay would be like with a 4-day, packed-to-the-gills itinerary. Print game logos in a Lambeau theme, sell up the experience. Explain how it would be cheaper for the league and fans' travel costs, and play up the 10,000+ seat difference than Sordid Field.
As someone who went to a Big XII school and grew up in SEC country, I think that Lambeau Field has everything the Big 10 would want at a playoff venue, save weather control. Location relative to the schools is only important in the sense that it has to be accessible. I wouldn't worry about Wisconsin perceived as having a homefield advantage over Nebraska (tee hee) or Penn State. However, it will have to sell that it's a good place for 70,000 fans to spend a weekend and overcome the perception that it will be a snow-fest in December (FWIW, I think snow games are a novelty, but not something I'll watch four quarters' worth on TV).
In the SEC/Big 12 championship games, the factors are city size/accommodations, payout, promotions, and venue. The SEC game's been in Atlanta forever, because it's a huge dome that hosts NFL and Super Bowls, and people like to party in Atlanta. I'm sure the income is good for the SEC. The Big 12 went from Arrowhead to Cowboys Stadium because the South teams were grousing about their fans' travel and Jerry Jones ego is only bested by his money-printing ability.
The big thing Lambeau has going for it is it's ambience/mystique. In the constantly upgrading NFL and college games, there aren't many sites that qualify as historical. I'm biased as a Packer fan, but I don't think that anyone would have a "meh" reaction to Lambeau Field as a championship venue. People will want to see and be at this game, even if they're not diehard fans of either team.
Championship game tickets usually get bought up at the tailend of the regular season, then resold once the matchup is set. I don't think fans will care too much about the "where," especially since this is the inaugural game.
However, the conference is looking for something else in addition to a "sellable" game: Is this a place they can pull off an entertaining broadcast and weekend? Is this more than the Applebees-fest that the dumbass Longwell sold it as? Will the first championship make fans and networks pay more for the second one? Green Bay has to compete with a city/stadium that's hosted a Super Bowl and doesn't have to prove it can take in 60,000+ fans for the weekend.
What Green Bay needs to do is sell up the tradition of Lambeau Field to the Big Ten (make it THE PLACE to have the first championship), explain that the venue and staff are equipped for major broadcast logistics and how the city can handle X many people flying/driving into Green Bay in the weekend. Highlight what a Championship Weekend in Green Bay would be like with a 4-day, packed-to-the-gills itinerary. Print game logos in a Lambeau theme, sell up the experience. Explain how it would be cheaper for the league and fans' travel costs, and play up the 10,000+ seat difference than Sordid Field.
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