Atlanta’s Hoop Dreams – A Reality
from the Super Bowl to the Olympics and more.
Anna Slive and Sharon Goldmacher
April 1, 2007
It’s no surprise that Atlanta has become a Mecca for great sporting events – from the Super
Bowl to the Olympics and more. However, a recent event may stand out as one of the city’s greatest
sports success stories.
From the organizations involved to the city’s support to the economic impact – this year’s
NCAA® Men’s Final Four® has been heralded by many Atlanta leaders as a shining example of how to
organize and execute a great, family-friendly sporting event.
First and foremost, any successful event needs a sound plan and a smart and effective team
working behind the scenes. The 2007 NCAA Men’s Final Four could not have been possible without
great partnerships between the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB), Georgia Tech as the
host institution, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Sports Council and the Georgia
World Congress Center and the Georgia Dome.
Add to that powerhouse combination, the leadership of William Pate, former BellSouth CMO and
now president of Career Sport & Entertainment, as executive board president of the Atlanta
Local Organizing Committee (ALOC). They recruited three co-chairs, including Tim Lindgren of Hyatt
Hotels; Bea Perez, senior vice president/media, sports and entertainment of The Coca-Cola Co.; and
Marc Lefar, former chief marketing officer, of Cingular (now AT&T). In fact, due in large part
to the board’s leadership and the great local corporate support, the ALOC met their fundraising
goals more than six months in advance of the event. What many people may not know is that the ALOC
hosting of the Men’s Final Four is almost entirely executed by volunteers. In fact, 16 volunteer
chairs - in charge of everything from signage to volunteers to PR to transportation - worked with
more than 1,700 others to ensure every detail of Final Four weekend went flawlessly.
Another benefit was having two of the NCAA Corporate Champions – AT&T and Coca-Cola -
headquartered in Atlanta. They were integrated into the planning process and as a result helped to
further enhance the Final Four experience for visitors and residents alike.
Atlanta has a number of key assets that the NCAA requires to host the Men’s Final Four,
including the world’s largest airport, state-of-the-art facilities like the Georgia Dome, the
Georgia World Congress, and Centennial Olympic Park, a strong host institution like Georgia Tech,
abundant and nationally renowned restaurants and high quality hotels. However, Atlanta also has
less tangible assets that were critical the event’s success, including an unprecedented public and
private partnership with city, police, MARTA, Central Atlanta Progress and the ALOC and NCAA. Most
important to the event’s success were the more than 1,700 volunteers who were willing to help at
concierge desks, handle transportation, and provide directions to visiting fans – all of which made
the weekend enjoyable for residents and visitors alike.
Atlanta first hosted the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 1977, when Al McGuire brought his young
Marquette players to the Omni arena to win his first national title. The city welcomed the Men’s
Final Four again in 2002.
Following that year, the NCAA began to broaden Final Four weekend to include additional
events and entertainment beyond the games. In 2003, they added The World’s Largest Pep Rally –
featuring the Final Four team bands, pep squads and cheerleaders to excite basketball fans, enhance
the collegiate environment and give fans another reason to stay downtown and enjoy the sights and
sounds. Since 2003, even more ancillary events have been added to extend the college basketball fan
experience.
On the 30th anniversary of Atlanta’s first hosting, the ALOC and the NCAA organized, executed
and promoted a comprehensive weekend of activities.
2007With most of them free to the public - from the Dome Dribble to Hoop City® to YES
Clinics® to The Big Dance® at Centennial Olympic Park and much more – attendance was high at every
event. In fact, here are some of the numbers:
• More than 30,000 attended Final Four Friday ™ Team Practices – which were free and open to
the public.
• NCAA® Hoop City® refreshed by Coca-Cola®, the interactive family friendly fan festival, had
more than 50,000 visitors over the weekend.
• The Dome Dribble to Hoop City attracted more than 2,000 children.
• Over 750 kids participated in the YES Clinics at Georgia State, Morehouse College and
Georgia Tech.
• And more than 125,000 attended free concerts and entertainment at The Big Dance in
Centennial Olympic Park for AT&T in the Park on Friday, The Pontiac Garage on Saturday, My Coke
Fest on Sunday and the NCAA Championship Monday.
Atlanta also had a few “firsts,” including the inaugural
Road to the Final Four 5K run, with two participants winning tickets to the games, and thanks
to WGCL-TV/CBS 46, fans without game tickets were able to have a larger-than-life view of both
Saturday’s semifinal games and Monday night’s championship match-up broadcast on the giant video
screens in Centennial Olympic Park.
And while the NCAA Final Four logo may be reserved only for its corporate partners, Atlanta
left its mark with its own logo. In fact, the ALOC in conjunction with the ACVB created “Atlanta: A
Legacy of Champions” - a special
“look” with a prominent basketball theme for the ACVB’s membership to officially use as a way
to welcome
basketball fans to our city.
The ACVB also worked with Marquette University and the NCAA to bring “McGuire” to the
Alliance theater, a one-act play written by famed sports broadcaster Dick Enberg. And the ALOC
leveraged the relationship between the Georgia World Congress Center and Bethune Elementary School
to create Art4Atlanta, an art program challenging the students
to visually depict “what Atlanta meant to them.” Their watercolor paintings welcomed visitors
entering into the Dome.
Lauded by the NCAA and local Atlanta leaders, Atlanta did an exquisite job Final Four
weekend. In fact, the Atlanta Sports Council predicted the impact for this year’s Men’s Final Four
to be $53 million and $61 million for the city and state, respectively.
Our goal is simple – to get the NCAA Men’s Final Four back as soon as possible. The next
available bid wouldn’t bring the event here until 2012, but it will be worth the wait. Atlanta has
clearly shown why we are the premier city to host great sporting events like the Final Four.