The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has confirmed that the entirety of this year’s March Madness basketball championship will be played in the state of Indiana, with the city of Indianapolis to stage the majority of games.

The NCAA first detailed the plans back in November and a tentative schedule has now been finalized. The decision to stage the showpiece event in one location is designed to enhance the safety of the tournament amid the ongoing difficulties posed by COVID-19.

Selection Sunday is scheduled for March 4 and the NCAA plans on staging the Final Four on April 3 and 4, with exact preliminary-round dates to be determined. Indianapolis had already been penciled in to stage the Final Four.

Under the new plans, games will be played on two courts inside Lucas Oil Stadium (pictured), home of the NFL Indianapolis Colts. Further games will be played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, home of the NBA Indiana Pacers, as well as Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The Indiana Convention Center will be used as a practice facility, with multiple courts to be set up inside the venue. Most of the tournament teams will be housed in Marriott properties, which will be connected to the convention center via skywalks and within a controlled environment.

The NCAA is partnering with a local health provider to administer COVID-19 testing within the controlled environment for players, coaching staffs, administrators, and officials.

The NCAA said it would continue to work with local officials to determine the feasibility of having fans attend games at any of the venues. A limited number of family members of each participating team’s athletes and coaches will be permitted to attend.

“This is a historic moment for NCAA members and the state of Indiana,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement. “We have worked tirelessly to reimagine a tournament structure that maintains our unique championship opportunity for college athletes. The reality of today’s announcement was possible thanks to the tremendous leadership of our membership, local authorities and staff.”

“The 2021 version of March Madness will be one to remember, if for no other reason than the uniqueness of the event,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA Senior Vice President of Basketball.

“With the direction of the Men’s Basketball Committee, we are making the most of the circumstances the global pandemic has presented. We’re fortunate to have neighbors and partners in Indianapolis and surrounding communities who not only love the game of basketball as much as anyone else in the country but have a storied history when it comes to staging major sporting events.

“This is going to be complicated and difficult; there’s no question about that. We appreciate the collaboration among the Men’s Basketball Committee and staff, our hosts and local organizers, the staffs at each practice and competition venue, and our broadcast and corporate partners. We will all pull together and stage a terrific national championship.”

The NCAA is also working with the city and the state to promote “Mask Madness,” an initiative to promote health and safety by practicing social distancing and wearing a mask. Through the program, the NCAA will donate thousands of masks throughout Indiana leading up to the tournament.

The NCAA was forced to cancel last year’s March Madness due to COVID-19.

By Zack Yohman

Armored Things, the crowd intelligence software company, and the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), announced a new technology collaboration to help ensure the safe return of fans and staff to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The team will deploy Armored Things’ crowd intelligence solution at the FieldHouse to manage fan density at key entry and gathering points and enable smarter decisions related to staffing, security, and sanitation. The software will also be deployed in the team’s business offices at the venue to help maintain safe spacing in common areas.

Just before the New Year, the Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse received approval from the State of Ohio to host up to 10% of the venue’s seating capacity, or nearly 2,000 fans per game. This is an increase from the State-restricted 300 fan limit to begin the season. The larger capacity for fans will begin Monday, January 11th when the team opens a three-game homestand.

Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is home to both the Cavaliers and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), as well as more than 200 diverse ticketed events and 1,400 private events that draw over two million patrons to downtown Cleveland each year. The venue is well recognized for its progressive initiatives and certifications to assure the health and safety of visitors and for its use of technology to optimize the fan experience.

With Armored Things’ AI-powered Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, the venue’s facilities and security teams will be able to leverage their existing Wi-Fi and security systems to gain an accurate, real-time understanding of how many people are gathering and moving around specific locations in the FieldHouse. The information will be available in the venue’s command center and via mobile devices to alert staff to potential congestion and make better decisions related to fan and staff health safety and experience. FieldHouse staff will also have access to valuable data trends to assist in planning.

Armored Things announced a similar partnership with major league soccer club LAFC as part of its reopen strategy at the Bank of California Stadium in Southern California.

“As we continue to welcome additional fans back to live events at the FieldHouse, Armored Things can help us provide a safer experience for fans as well as our staff, no matter the number,” said Michael Conley, Chief Information Officer for the Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. “COVID is a pressing issue right now, but this is also an important investment in our long-term security and operations infrastructure. The ability to understand the flow of people in the venue equips us to stay one step ahead of their needs, deploy resources more intelligently, and optimize the event environment .”

“The Cavaliers organization is leveraging all the tools at their disposal to bring people back to live events safely,” said Julie Johnson Roberts, Armored Things co-founder and CEO. “Working in concert with the security systems already in place at the FieldHouse, we are able to help their team understand patterns and trends, and alert them to sudden changes so they can respond accordingly. The end result is safer, more informed operations and a better fan experience.”

Zack Yohman is Director of Business & Strategic Communications for Cavaliers Operating Company, LLC.

Danita Johnson has been named president of business operations at Major League Soccer franchise D.C. United.

Johnson becomes the first black president of an MLS club and is believed to be only the third woman in league history to serve in the role.

Johnson joins the club from Women’s National Basketball Association franchise the Los Angeles Sparks, where she spent the last two years serving as president and chief operating officer. She previously developed and led the ticket sales and service department for the Washington Mystics while with Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

Johnson also has NBA experience with the Los Angeles Clippers and helped launch NBA G League team Bakersfield Jam in 2006 and WNBA outfit Tulsa Shock, which relocated from Detroit in 2010.

By Meghan Flanagan

Comcast Spectacor, owner of the Wells Fargo Center arena and the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, is advancing its commitment to renewable energy and sustainability at two of its primary facilities. Through an agreement with SunPower, a leading solar technology and energy service provider, Comcast Spectacor completed the installation of a 1.06 megawatt (MW) onsite solar system at the Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone at Voorhees in New Jersey. Comcast Spectacor has also introduced an electric Zamboni ice resurfacer and will achieve 100 percent renewable electricity supply for the facility starting in 2021.

The Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone at Voorhees is the training facility for the Philadelphia Flyers and the National Lacrosse League’s Philadelphia Wings and offers public ice-skating sessions and youth hockey activations year-round. Installation of the rooftop solar panels began in May 2020 and was completed in November 2020. Comcast Spectacor will sell the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from the onsite solar and purchase national RECs to provide all Spectacor facilities with 100% renewable electricity. The Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone at Voorhees has also replaced its traditional propane Zamboni machine with an electric model.

“Comcast Spectacor is pleased to advance our support of renewable energy through this onsite solar technology installation by SunPower,” said Dave Scott, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Spectacor. “Combined with the activation of wind energy for Wells Fargo Center and our REC purchases, the Flyers will now train and compete in facilities completely powered by renewable electricity, which furthers Comcast NBCUniversal’s ongoing commitment to sustainable innovation.”

“Comcast Spectacor made a meaningful commitment to increase reliable, clean electricity in the Philadelphia region, and we are proud to help them achieve their mission with solar,” said Eric Potts, SVP, Commercial and Industrial Solutions at SunPower. “It’s not uncommon for a sports team to make an immense impact on its community — but the Philadelphia Flyers are raising the bar by using their footprint to work towards vital sustainability goals.”

The onsite solar project is the latest in an ongoing series of sustainability efforts across Comcast Spectacor facilities. In combination with the electric Zamboni machine, Comcast Spectacor’s purchase of renewable energy credits will contribute an additional annual reduction of more than 1,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases. That reduction is equivalent to removing more than 370 passenger vehicles driven for a year.

“The renewable energy and sustainability efforts of Comcast Spectacor and the Philadelphia Flyers at their practice facility epitomize our overall NHL Green environmental sustainability work in North American community rinks where we play and enjoy the game,” said Kim Davis, NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives & Legislative Affairs. “These environmental efforts reinforce the League’s commitment and progress in creating vibrant and healthy communities through hockey for the next generation of passionate fans.”

These developments are in addition to Wells Fargo Center’s 100 percent renewable electricity initiative, which was achieved through an agreement with Constellation that completely powers the arena with wind. The wind power generation avoids more than 15,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas annually which is equivalent to the amount produced by 3,373 passenger vehicles over the course of a year. All of these efforts will provide Comcast Spectacor facilities with 100% renewable electricity and supports Comcast NBCUniversal’s long-term aspirational goal of achieving 100 percent renewable energy.

Meghan Flanagan is Director, Corporate Communications for Comcast Spectacor based in Philadelphia.

The home stadium of the Pittsburgh Steelers will continue to be known as Heinz Field after the NFL team signed a one-year extension to its naming-rights partnership with food production company Kraft Heinz.

The new agreement will run until the end of 2021. Heinz has sponsored the stadium since it opened in 2001 and its deal with the Steelers had been due to expire at the end of the current NFL season.

Financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed. The original agreement was worth a reported $57 million.

“Over the years, the partnership has been a win-win for the Steelers – one of the NFL’s most storied and popular teams – and for Kraft Heinz, Kraft Heinz Chief Executive Miguel Patricio said in a statement. “Both the Steelers and the Heinz brand are synonymous with Pittsburgh.”

Heinz Field welcomed a limited number of fans to a handful of games earlier in the season before restrictions were put in place starting with the game against Washington Football Team on December 6.

The Steelers had been welcoming around 5,500 fans until that point but new orders from Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf forced the team to restrict access to family and friends of the team.

Heinz Field has a capacity of around 68,400 and also serves as the home of the University of Pittsburgh’s American football team. The stadium has also staged NHL ice hockey games and music concerts over the years.