The ACC Tournament, which has always been held in traditional ACC territory, may be making a move up north to the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.
ESPN New York is reporting that the ACC is "investigating" playing it's men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden, with one source going so far as to saying that the only thing preventing the tournament's relocation is legal ramifications.
Madison Square Garden was the home of the Big East Tournament since 1983, but now the former Big East has disintegrated. The new Big East reached a deal with Madison Square Garden to hold it's tournament in the Big Apple through 2026, but Madison Square Garden can get out of its contract with the new Big East if the league fails to meet certain specifications.
Greensboro, N.C., the home of the 2013 ACC Tournament, will also host the tournament in 2014 and 2015, but after that the location is up for grabs. Madison Square Garden did not apply for the tournament by the official deadline, but there are ways around that formality. In addition to Madison Square Garden, there is a chance the ACC could take its talents to Brooklyn and play in the Barclays Center.
With the addition of northern schools like Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame to the ACC next season, the conference is already experimenting with new locations for its conference championships. The conference announced last month that the ACC Tournament for men's lacrosse will be held at PPL Park in Philadelphia in 2014 and 2015. With a new northern base centered around former Big East powers, a potential move to Madison Square Garden is a prospect that should be taken seriously.
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