Destination

 

This past weekend, I saw UConn phenom Paige Bueckers drop 29 as the Huskies beat the UNC Tar Heels 69-58 - in Greensboro. It was a Carolina home game played an hour from home, but there were still plenty of UConn supporters in the crowd of more than 10,000 as head coach Geno Auriemma pulled even with Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in women's Division I college basketball. 

The game may have been proof of concept.

Before that game even tipped, Facebook ads alerted me to a game already inked for next year, as the Tennessee Lady Vols will take on the NC State Wolfpack in the same arena. Added to this past Friday's game and women's hoops two most storied programs will pay a visit to Greensboro in as many years - to say nothing of the teams that grace the Coliseum floor each year for the ACC tournament.

Long managed by the city of Greensboro, the Greensboro Coliseum - now officially the First Horizon Coliseum, though good luck getting the locals to call it that - came under the management of the Oak View Group at the top of the fiscal year. In addition to the sale of naming rights, the Coliseum has secured a new tenant in an ECHL expansion franchise. And while the sample size is now just two, becoming a destination for women's college basketball may be part of the business model as well. 

It would be a move that makes sense on all sides. As the perennial host of the ACC women's basketball tournament, local ACC teams getting a "first look" will always be attractive. Throw in a high caliber out of conference test and a close-to-home venue that helps bring the product to fans who may not make it to Winston-Salem, Durham, Chapel Hill, or Raleigh, and these matchups can capitalize on a growing game and continue to expand the sport's reach. The city known as Tournament Town may even do well to host an in-season tournament. We've already seen: This city will come out for quality hoops.