Hoops On A Flat Top A Daunting Task To Organizers
CORONADO, Calif. (AP) - Staging the first NCAA college basketball game on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is going to be a task as big as the USS Carl Vinson itself.
Just less than five months before North Carolina and Michigan State are scheduled to play on Veterans Day, officials from the Navy, ESPN and the Morale Entertainment Foundation spent a few hours Monday inspecting the flat top, which last month buried Osama bin Laden at sea.
The inspection, which continues Tuesday, is a big step in the process of securing final approval from the Navy. Among the numerous issues organizers have to deal with are security, weather, lighting and getting the participants and an estimated 7,000 fans from shore to the ship, which is 1,092 feet long.
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