On November 11, 2011, North Carolina and Michigan State will play the first ever college basketball game on the deck of an aircraft carrier positioned in the San Diego harbor. This will be the 2009 NCAA basketball title game rematch.
There will be seating arrangements for about 7,000 viewers. In the event of rain the game will be played below the flight deck. So far no tickets are being sold. The game will be played within a makeshift, stadium seating arena constructed on the deck of an as yet undetermined ship, dubbed the Carrier Classic.
What could get really interesting is if there’s rain on the day in question, as in fact, as far as gimmicks go, this one ranks pretty high. The game will be played below the flight deck, presumably in front of some much smaller crowd in the event of inclement weather.
Thursday, ESPN announced that, it will televise the game on Veterans Day. It will be the first men’s college basketball game to be played on the deck of a U.S. military aircraft carrier, what the network said.
No tickets will be on sale to the public as the current proposal only allocates seating for approximately 7,000 audience topside. Considering the location and the specific date, we imagine that the crowd will be mostly of veterans and military personnel.