If not Greensboro, where else is a suitable home for the 15-team league?
Admittedly, the Syracuse Orange haven’t had the best relationship with the city of Greensboro, home of the ACC, since it was first announced in 2011 that we planned to join the conference.
You certainly remember Jim Boeheim’s Denny’s comments — not directed specifically at Greensboro, but the league footprint overall — as well the infamous “there’s no value playing in Greensboro, none” remarks from 2017. Jim’s since made amends with the city, so its minor league baseball team can stop being #madonline. But we can’t just forget how Syracuse has already made its mark on the debate of where the conference and its tournament are located.
Well, it would appear that Jim may have been onto something. Perhaps not from a cultural or culinary standpoint, but at least logistically. The Richmond Times-Dispatch’s David Teel reported on Thursday that the ACC is exploring a possible move. Some of the locations in contention include Charlotte (duh), Washington D.C. and Atlanta.
Now, Charlotte makes obvious sense as the league’s “secondary home” already. And from an infrastructure standpoint, it makes far more sense to be in the larger hub there — where there’s a bigger airport that functions as a major hub in the South, plus ESPN’s production facility in the city. Real estate’s more expensive than Greensboro, sure. But this isn’t like the Pac-12 trading its Walnut Creek suburban digs for San Francisco’s steep price gouging. And the benefits of a move to Charlotte would certainly outweigh the negatives — even for traditionalists who may want to see the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament go to Greensboro with some frequency. This doesn’t stop that from occurring at all.
But where would we like to see it move to? Some of the best picks:
Washington D.C.
Nothing says dynamic, progressive change like the District of…. nope. Can’t do it. The benefit here is it’s a shot across the bow to the Big Ten and Maryland. But really, it’s pointless to put your headquarters that far from any existing team in the footprint. Plus we’re all in THE ALLIANCE now. That expansion kerfuffle is in the past, friends.
Atlanta
Here, you get a larger travel hub and larger city, while also encroaching upon the SEC’s hold on the “capital of the South.” Or, at least, that’s the idea. It makes sense logistically and you have Georgia Tech IN the city (something the SEC can’t say about its own ties there). But you’d likely be signing the league up to play second fiddle or worse, for little benefit.
New York
Jim is beyond thrilled at even the mention of this, as he’d get to go back to all of his favorite spots in the City, tell all of the ACC coaches about the good ol’ days in the Big East and feel like he ultimately got his way in this decade-long culture war with the South. The cost of moving to New York and the fact that only two teams are all that close to the city is why a move like that wouldn’t happen. But I’m sure conference brass is also thinking that avoiding giving Boeheim a win in this regard is an added bonus.
Denny’s
To the point above, this is how the ACC wins that battle for good, by turning itself into a meme for eternity. It doesn’t matter which Denny’s, either. Could be any of them. But this is the heel move if the ACC wants to take it.
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Where would you move the ACC? We’ll take any and all ideas below.
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