I read with an open mind the N&R’s front-pager on Greensboro Coliseum director Matt Brown’s pet project —- the ACC Hall of Champions, which he hopes will open in time for the 2011 tournament.
Brown already has $2 million in state taxpayers’ money in hand for the first phase, and he says additional phases could cost as high as $18 million. Yet he says he won’t ask the City of Greensboro or the ACC for funding, saying the conference is “letting us use their brand name and use it to promote our community.” Considering the rows of empty seats at this year’s tournament, you have to wonder how much the ACC’s brand is worth these days. The way I see it, the brand would be further weakened should the NCAA expand the national tournament to 96 teams.
The floor plan looks like it’s filled with a lot of fluff to me. The architect on the project said the “goal is not to put people on a pedestal….“It is more an idea that is put on that pedestal … how ACC basketball impacted the rest of college basketball.”
I guess I see the point, but after watching the lackluster play in this tournament, maybe lifelong ACC fans want to see heroes of the past put on a pedestal.
