Report: Syracuse-San Diego State Aircraft Carrier Game Facing Cancellation

The Syracuse-San Diego State basketball game, set to be played on an aircraft carrier off the coast of San Diego, like the Michigan State-North Carolina game in 2011, is reportedly likely to be cancelled. Possibly in the next few days. Mark Zeigler writes:

A half dozen sources told UT San Diego that the Aztecs’ season-opening game against Syracuse on the deck of a retired aircraft carrier is in jeopardy of being called off, although a final decision isn’t expected for another day or two. "Battle on the Midway" was planned as part of a Veterans Day weekend that included a fan fest along with a concert and gala to benefit Barry Zito’s Strikeouts For Troops foundation. Then Al Kidd, the president of the San Diego Sports Commission and one of the driving forces behind the event, left the organization. The fan fest, concert and gala all were cancelled in the past month.

That left a lone basketball game scheduled in a temporary outdoor stadium that holds about 4,000. There is a television deal with Fox Sports San Diego to produce and distribute the game nationally, but promoters have yet to announce any national sponsors – the lifeblood of any one-off event with a modest seating capacity.

Tickets for the game are upwards of $1,000; the game is not sold out, although tickets have not yet been offered to the general public.

With the promoter and sports commission unable to generate sponsorships, the sources said, Fox Sports San Diego, SDSU and Syracuse have been frantically trying to arrange enough financial backing to salvage a game that is a mere five weeks away.

The aircraft carrier game last year was such a unique, scenic event, it would be a shame to see Syracuse and an up and coming San Diego State team lose their opportunity for their own version because of financial mismanagement on the part of the organizers.