About 10,800 million dollars (9,770 million euros). It’s what the American chain paid for CBS to secure the grand final of college basketball (NCAA) until 2024 and added another 8,800 million (8,000 million euros) to extend it until 2032. It is called March Madness (March madness) and it is a tradition that moves 3,100 million (2,800 million euros) in bets every year. Even the NBA stops for the men’s final.
In a country totally dedicated to sports and entertainment like the United States, few events arouse as much passion as the NCAA’s ‘March Madness’, the head-to-head confrontation between the best teams in college basketball and that also drags a large amount of business behind.
After three weeks of surprises and emotions on the field, the End Four of the male section will play it in New Orleans the teams of Duke, North Carolina, Villanova and Kansaswhile in the women’s competition they will be cited in Minneapolis the sets of South Carolina, louisville, Stanford and UConn.
Particularly in the media is the match for the men’s title, which will monopolize the attention of American basketball next Monday, April 4.
So much so that the NBA, an unstoppable machine of games in the regular season from October to April, will take one of its very few days off on Monday so as not to be overshadowed by the NCAA final.
Visitors in the French Quarter of New Orleans, which will host the Final Four between Saturday and Monday.
Television rights are an example of the great impact of ‘March Madness’. CBS/Turner reached an agreement in 2010 with the NCAA to issue this crazy men’s march until 2024 for a total of 10.8 billion dollars, although they later extended that contract until 2032 for an additional 8.8 billion.
With those figures in mind, perhaps not so surprising $3.1 billion that, according to a survey by the Association of bets American (AGA), they plan to play the Americans during the men’s tournament.
That includes a very popular tradition around the ‘March Madness’: bets to guess the winners of all the crosses to nail the “bracket” (the relationship of pairings or table of matches).
THE NUMBERS FOR NEW ORLEANS
The ‘Final Four’ also represents a great economic stimulus for the city in charge of organizing it.
“New Orleans is excited and ready to host the NCAA Men’s Final Four for the sixth time in history,” Mayor LaToya Cantrell said this week.
The portal nola.com, a reference for the New Orleans press, assured that up to 100,000 visitors are expected in the cradle of jazz for the Final Four.
For its part, Forbes magazine, citing local authorities, estimated at $170 million economic impact in the city that hosts this final phase.
The Caesar’s Superdomethe stadium where the New Orleans Saints of the NFL play, will be the venue where these games will be played before more than 70,000 viewers.
Duke players warming up before a practice session in New Orleans
And how much do the tickets cost to live it?
According to StubHub, the resale portal for tickets most important in the country, on Wednesday there were still tickets for the entire weekendr548 dollars (395 of the entrance and 153 more of management expenses).
The expectation for this ‘Final Four’ may be greater due to some very morbid matches (the historic rivalry between Duke and North Carolina) and also because in 2020 the ‘March Madness’ was canceled due to the pandemic and in 2021 it was held with limited attendance due to the coronavirus.
This year, however, some are willing to do anything to attend the games.
There’s the case of Eric Churchenormous country star and who this week canceled his concert on Saturday in San Antonio (USA) only to witness in person the meeting between Duke and North Carolinasomething that his fans did not like at all.
The men’s Final Four in New Orleans is the culmination of great NCAA logistics that has involved 68 teams in 14 different cities in the past few weeks. national tournament.
But all this huge business for the NCAA continues – in a very controversial way – leaving aside the players, who continue to be unable to receive salaries and that only after a reform approved last year can they now receive compensation for the sale of their image or through of sponsors.
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The ‘crazy’ figures of ‘March Madness’