Reevaluating the NCAA Lacrosse Championship Location

My research intends to analyze the location of the NCAA lacrosse championship weekend, and potentially find a new host site. Since 2003, the NCAA lacrosse championship weekend has only been hosted in Boston, Philadelphia, and... [ view full abstract ]

My research intends to analyze the location of the NCAA lacrosse championship weekend, and potentially find a new host site. Since 2003, the NCAA lacrosse championship weekend has only been hosted in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.  There has been a considerable drop off in attendance since 2007, when attendance reached 123,225 people.  This decrease may be a reflection of less excitement in these three markets because they host the event so regularly. My research aims to take a data and analytical approach by minimizing the travel distance for the collegiate teams participating in the events, while maximizing the attendance for the event.  Using GIS, I have created a network that estimates a college’s travel distance to potential stadiums across the country.  I have weighed each college’s distance differently based on their past performance.  I have also used GIS and Excel to calculate the distance from every county in the United States to each potential stadium.  This allows me to calculate the market potential of a particular location.  I plan to use the number of lacrosse recruits in a region, along with other demographic factors to determine the market potential for a given location, in order to maximize attendance.