Based on reports from the Casino Association of New Jersey, casinos in Atlantic City have never been more prepared for the exciting return of this year’s National College Basketball Championship Tournament. To encourage sports punters to participate, casinos in New Jersey will be hosting special offers and events designed to enhance the punter’s and visitors’ viewing experience.
Casinos in New Jersey have been gearing up for the championship since the events were concluded last year. The city has done everything possible to prepare a premier casino gambling experience, as well as an array of sportsbooks to choose from. Each of the different sportsbooks has also organized various events to keep punters occupied and thoroughly entertained during their time in New Jersey.
For instance, in Resorts Casino Hotel, visitors will be treated to March Mania’s Slam Dunk Bar, which will be a pop-up bar that will boast a basketball-themed atmosphere. In the Slam Dunk Bar, patrons will also be treated to a wide array of cocktails as they watch live entertainment on numerous large screens.
In Bally’s customers will be treated to a central massive LED video wall, which will be surrounded by other smaller TVs to ensure customers do not miss a single moment of the games. Customers at Bally’s will be able to place their sports bets easily from any of the 5 wagering windows or the self-service kiosks available. Other venues will be offering specials on meals throughout March Madness month.
This year, the production of the tournament will not be vastly different from last year’s arrangement. Games will still feature a virtual shot clock that will be situated on the court. The event will also include in-game coach interviews with the Final Four games being integrated into broadcasts by rail and sky cameras.
Even more people are expected to tune in to the live broadcasts this year. Last year, the championship game between Gonzaga and Baylor managed to attract an average of 16.9 million viewers for CBS, which was a 14%drop from 2019’s viewership. 2019 was the least-watched championship aired on the network since the network started broadcasting the sporting event in 1982.
This year will also mark the first time that the tournament will return to Turner Sports since 2018 when the University of Michigan was beaten by Villanova. In 2018, the championship managed to attract close to 16.5 million viewers. CBS and Turner Sports have been rotating the Championship since 2016.
The good news is that the NCAA is hopeful that the viewership during this year’s event will improve. Prominent programs that were missing from last year’s events should certainly help to boost the numbers. In regards to the women’s side, Disney has been positive that it will top last year’s title game which took place between Stanford and Arizona.
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The Tournament Has Been Working Hard to Get a Sense of Normalcy
Following 2 tumultuous pandemic-filled years, March Madness is finally starting to return to normal. According to executives from Paramount Global and WarnerMedia, this year March Madness promises to pay out close to $1 billion in ad income from the men’s side. Last year, the tournament event had to be held in a bubble.
During this bubble, the Baylor Bears won their very first NCAA men’s basketball championship. However, this year’s tournament will include the return of celebrated programs Kentucky and Duke. Both of the programs were missing in last year’s tournament, which was still struggling under the weight of pandemic restrictions and social distancing guidelines. This year will also mark legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final appearance with the Blue Devils.
In 2020, both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments, as well as all the other championships that were scheduled in winter and spring got canceled. The cancellation of the Division I tournament was based on the progressing public health threat that had been brought about by the ongoing pandemic. At the time, the NCAA was not equipped to ensure that the tournament would not contribute to further spreading the already out of control pandemic.
2020 marked the first year that the tournament had not taken place since its advent in 1939. Before the cancellation of the tournament, the NCAA had already been looking into the idea of moving the Final Four out of its traditional venue outside of Atlanta. Before the decision was made to cancel the event entirely, consideration had already been given to moving a fan-less Final Four from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Sadly, as a result of the cancellation, Atlanta will not get another opportunity to host the Final Four until at least 2027. Until then, other cities will be committed to hosting the highly anticipated sporting event. The Final 4 had been awarded to Atlanta years prior and would have been the 3rd sports mega-event to be hosted at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The only other events that were hosted at the stadium had been the College Football Playoff championship game which was held in 2018 and the Super Bowl a year later in 2019. As one can imagine, this was a huge blow to the state and the tournament. The NCAA generates close to $1 billion in yearly profits, which it shares with the member school. Most of that revenue is typically derived from contracts with broadcasting stations, which had not been broadcasting any live games due to the spread of the pandemic.
Final Thoughts
In total, the cancellation of the tournament cost the association and the member schools about $800 million. The NCAA did return in 2021 and even managed to produce an excess of $1.15 billion in revenue. In 2021, contracts with CBS and Turner Sports to televise the Division 1 men’s basketball tournament produced the bulk of the returns.
Contracts with the 2 broadcasting powerhouses paid the NCAA a total of $850 million in 2021. However, this year, the same contracts are expected to pay $870 million. Before there was ever a sniff of the pandemic, the NCAA raked in revenue worth $1.12 billion in 2019.
