Lacrosse's version of the prodigal son returns to Baltimore - albeit on a temporary basis.
After spending the past two springs at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., the NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four comes back to M&T Bank Stadium over Memorial Day weekend in 2010 and 2011 before returning to the Boston area in 2012.
Tickets will go on sale today for the 2010 championship weekend in Baltimore. Some observers say the event is returning to Baltimore not a moment too soon. Attendance at Gillette Stadium was among the lowest for a men's lacrosse Final Four.
"I'm a New York guy, and I went to school in New York, but I realize that in terms of a concentrated area, that is the heart of lacrosse," CBS College Sports analyst Paul Carcaterra, a former Syracuse All-America midfielder, said of Baltimore. "You can argue that New York is a better state than Maryland in terms of lacrosse on the high school and college lacrosse levels. But from the standpoint of a concentrated area, when you're talking about New York, you're talking from Syracuse to Long Island, which can be 300 miles in some cases. When you think about Maryland lacrosse, you think about a concentrated 45-mile area. It is the heartland in terms of being that centrally located area."
Others believe it's convenient for more fans to travel and watch the games, too.
"I just think Baltimore is better situated to service the fans," said Quint Kessenich, ESPN analyst and former Johns Hopkins All-America goalie. "Southwest Airlines can fly you to BWI [Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport] cheap. The hotels are nearby, [so] you don't have to rent a car. And it's the Northeast corridor - D.C., Virginia, New Jersey. Think about the amount of fans within a four-hour radius."
The NCAA enjoyed unheard-of success when staging the three-day tournament - which includes the Division I final and semifinals and the Division II and III finals - at the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium.
Baltimore hosted in 2003, 2004 and 2007 and set attendance records in each of those years. The announced 51,719 who showed up to watch the Division I semifinals in 2007 is still a single-day record for the tournament.
So when the city joined Boston, Denver and the Meadowlands in New Jersey in submitting bids for the 2010 to 2012 final fours, the decision to return to Baltimore was not complicated.
