Calipari wants Kentucky to play game in Nashville

New University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari has spoken of starting a neutral site series against Duke, Texas or another powerhouse program, and on Thursday opened up the possibility of playing that game at Nashville’s Sommet Center.

Calipari, who left the University of Memphis for Kentucky, revealed the idea during an interview Thursday afternoon on WGFX-FM 104.5’s The Sports Zone with George Plaster.

Now, Plaster and others in Nashville say they will try to make the game happen, if possible.

“[We like to work on] playing a game in Nashville,” Calipari said in the interview. “I’m trying to think who is the opponent we could go in there with. I don’t want to step on Vandy. You know what I think of that program and all those guys. But we have a lot of Kentucky fans in Nashville.

“It’s not that far of a drive, and we would probably say, ‘Let’s split the house with somebody up there. And let’s come in and play somebody there like we did that doubleheader there [with Memphis and Tennessee]. That was a great event.”

Calipari, in an interview with the Associated Press said he would like to begin a neutral court series against a program like Duke, Texas or some other major power outside the Southeastern Conference. He said Thursday that he would like to play a game in Nashville on an every other year basis.

Calipari is taking over the struggling Wildcats program, trying to restore it to its previous glory after it failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 2009 under the guidance of Billy Gillespie, who was fired at season’s end.

Plaster said he knew Calipari was serious about trying to play the game in Music City the moment the coach began talking about the possibilities of such a contest in a recorded interview Thursday morning that aired on the station in the afternoon.

“The minute I got through with the interview, I called Butch Spyridon of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, because I knew Calipari was serious about this, and this is the type of event Nashville should be vying for constantly,” Plaster told The City Paper. “Why wouldn’t Calipari be interested? We have a great city, a great arena and have earned the right to be in these kinds of discussions. I may come off sounding like a Nashville cheerleader, but that’s just the way I feel about our city.”

Spyridon says the match of Nashville and the University of Kentucky fan base is one that has produced many win-win situations in the past and would do so again, if this game comes about.

“Every time we’ve had them in town, whether it’s Vandy-Kentucky, the Music City Bowl or the SEC Tournament, it has been a success,” Spyridon said. “Kentucky has been a perennial home run as a visiting team in this market. We would call out to the Blue Mist that this is a good idea that their coach has. They have great fans who love Nashville and Nashville loves them.”

Spyridon said the next step would come soon _ a visit to the university to try and turn the idea into a reality.

“The only thing we have to lose is if we do nothing. We’re more than a little interested,” Spyridon said. “We will reach out in very near future and do everything in our power to be the city that brings this game in. It would be great for our town, great for the building and great for revenue.”

The next step is securing the Wildcats’ interest in making the game happen.

“You’ve got to have their coach ready and willing to take a lead, and it sounds like from the interview he’s serious,” Spyridon said. “We would then need to find the right opponent, and then find an open date. It is too lucrative of an opportunity and too high profile of an opportunity not to do it.

“The key is to find a big-time opponent that will draw television as well. But in the very near future, we will definitely be visiting Kentucky.”