Well, this is the earliest I can ever remember Major League Baseball announcing the next year's schedule, but it's good news for the NFBC. This allows us to work on hotel contracts and get the 2024 season started sooner than ever before.
Major League Baseball announced last week that there will be a Seoul Series between the Dodgers and Padres on March 20th and 21st in South Korea. It will be MLB's first ever regular-season games in Korea and it's the first return of the Asia games in a handful of years.
For the NFBC, these games will be "free look" games for all leagues that draft before AND after those results are finished. All NFBC lineups will remain unlocked until the start of the Thursday, March 28th games, so enjoy the results and draft/set your starting lineups accordingly.
Opening Day for all other MLB teams is Thursday, March 28th and in fact all 30 teams will be playing that day. Here's a look at the 2024 MLB schedule:
https://www.mlb.com/schedule/2024-03-28
https://www.mlb.com/news/2024-mlb-schedule
The NFBC has not secured a Las Vegas hotel yet because for the space we need we really can't sign a contract until 90 days out, and in some cases even 60 days out. But that would make our live events take place Thursday, March 21st through Monday, March 25th. And we'd be open to other live events after that if there was demand. We have been in contact with the Mirage because we would love to return there again and as of now they do have the same space we had last year. We will continue to stay in touch with our Mirage contacts and see if we can get a deal done there. Stay tuned.
And for the first time in 20 years, we are not planning to host live events in New York City. The demand for New York leagues has waned through the years and we are experiencing that again in football. New York City has always been a destination spot, but now some of our best customers are choosing NOT to go into the City. We just can't fight it anymore and have decided not to officially host these live events. We'll keep an open mind on some special events and how we could host those, but as of now New York City is not on the NFBC agenda. We are the only high-stakes company to ever host live events in New York City, but like Chicago, it's time has come.
We are considering a second weekend of live events in Las Vegas, however, in 2024. The NCAA Tournament opens March 14-17 and that was always a fun kickoff weekend for live NFBC events. If space is available to us, we would consider hosting live events in Las Vegas that weekend and then again the following weekend. In the past, we were able to get multiple Auction Championship leagues and Main Events and it would be worthwhile to us to secure space if we could do that again. Nothing is certain at this point, but we are looking into it.
Obviously, we have 2+ months of the 2023 season to complete and millions of dollars to give away yet, but it's good to know that the MLB schedule is already set for 2024. It allows us to make our plans for next season and it allows you to start looking at travel dates as well. Thanks for any feedback you may have on the upcoming schedule and let's have a fantastic 21st NFBC season!!!
But until then....WIN YOUR 2023 LEAGUES!!! Stay well.
2024 MLB Opening Day Will Be Thursday, March 28th
- Greg Ambrosius
- Posts: 40408
- Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:00 pm
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2024 MLB Opening Day Will Be Thursday, March 28th
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius
- Greg Ambrosius
- Posts: 40408
- Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:00 pm
- Contact:
Re: 2024 MLB Opening Day Will Be Thursday, March 28th
Okay, I just learned some surprising news!!!
The NCAA Basketball Tournament is starting a week later this year, which means First Weekend coincides with our Las Vegas Weekend of NFBC drafts. This changes my plans going forward with Las Vegas, but could be even better for everyone if we can get a good room block.
March Madness starts Thursday, March 21st. Here's the schedule as posted on the NCAA site:
Here is the schedule for March Madness 2024, which begins with Selection Sunday on March 17, 2024:
Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 17
First Four: March 19-20
First round: March 21-22
Second round: March 23-24
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: April 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
NCAA championship game: April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
MLB Opening Day is Thursday, March 28th, so here's the plan for NFBC 2024:
If I can get space, we would start NFBC Las Vegas Drafts on Wednesday, March 20th and continue each day through Wednesday, March 27th. I think several people would either stay through the next week or we'd get new people coming in for Sweet Sixteen. This was the schedule a few years ago and we had Main Event drafts on Monday and Wednesday nights. Let's see what happens this year, but starting on Wednesday night with some live leagues and continuing the day before Opening Day makes sense.
I know some people are already looking at flights, so I wanted to get this out there quickly. We are NOT planning on a New York City venue this year, but hope to get good space and a good room block at a Las Vegas host hotel for 8+ days just before the start of the baseball season. And with the two Korea MLB games March 20-21, it will be a packed week of sports out there. Plan accordingly.
The NCAA Basketball Tournament is starting a week later this year, which means First Weekend coincides with our Las Vegas Weekend of NFBC drafts. This changes my plans going forward with Las Vegas, but could be even better for everyone if we can get a good room block.
March Madness starts Thursday, March 21st. Here's the schedule as posted on the NCAA site:
Here is the schedule for March Madness 2024, which begins with Selection Sunday on March 17, 2024:
Selection Sunday: Sunday, March 17
First Four: March 19-20
First round: March 21-22
Second round: March 23-24
Sweet 16: March 28-29
Elite Eight: March 30-31
Final Four: April 6 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
NCAA championship game: April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
MLB Opening Day is Thursday, March 28th, so here's the plan for NFBC 2024:
If I can get space, we would start NFBC Las Vegas Drafts on Wednesday, March 20th and continue each day through Wednesday, March 27th. I think several people would either stay through the next week or we'd get new people coming in for Sweet Sixteen. This was the schedule a few years ago and we had Main Event drafts on Monday and Wednesday nights. Let's see what happens this year, but starting on Wednesday night with some live leagues and continuing the day before Opening Day makes sense.
I know some people are already looking at flights, so I wanted to get this out there quickly. We are NOT planning on a New York City venue this year, but hope to get good space and a good room block at a Las Vegas host hotel for 8+ days just before the start of the baseball season. And with the two Korea MLB games March 20-21, it will be a packed week of sports out there. Plan accordingly.
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius
- Greg Ambrosius
- Posts: 40408
- Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 6:00 pm
- Contact:
Re: 2024 MLB Opening Day Will Be Thursday, March 28th
I know many of you like to plan your NFBC trips well in advance and I'm working hard to help you out. With any luck, I will have more clarification on our 21st anniversary season very soon. We are hosting live events only in Las Vegas this year and there's a good chance we could be back at the Mirage. Details coming soon.
My plan is to kick off the live events a little earlier this year and make them last a little longer as well. The First Weekend of March Madness for the NCAA Tournament coincides with our draft weekend, so hotel rooms will be tough to get. I'll have a nice room block available shortly, so stay tuned. But with First Weekend on the main weekend of our drafts and then Sweet Sixteen the following weekend starting on MLB Opening Day, I think there's reason to secure ballroom space from Wednesday, March 20th through Wednesday, March 27th.
That's the plan. We'll create some drafts for Wednesday night in Las Vegas and also have Thursday auctions and drafts available. We'll have similar schedules as in the past for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then will offer some live Main Event drafts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night, and slip in the Monday morning Auction Championship League again and maybe some other live events. We're securing space for all eight days in Las Vegas and hopefully many of you will stay with us and have some fun.
Again, more details will be coming soon, but I think we have the venue we want, a room block that will be good and nice space for a Friday Night NFBC Party!!! Our 21st anniversary season is going to be epic, so get your flights now, hold off on your hotel stay just a little longer and look for a nice announcement pretty damn soon. Can't wait to announce this!!!
My plan is to kick off the live events a little earlier this year and make them last a little longer as well. The First Weekend of March Madness for the NCAA Tournament coincides with our draft weekend, so hotel rooms will be tough to get. I'll have a nice room block available shortly, so stay tuned. But with First Weekend on the main weekend of our drafts and then Sweet Sixteen the following weekend starting on MLB Opening Day, I think there's reason to secure ballroom space from Wednesday, March 20th through Wednesday, March 27th.
That's the plan. We'll create some drafts for Wednesday night in Las Vegas and also have Thursday auctions and drafts available. We'll have similar schedules as in the past for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and then will offer some live Main Event drafts on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night, and slip in the Monday morning Auction Championship League again and maybe some other live events. We're securing space for all eight days in Las Vegas and hopefully many of you will stay with us and have some fun.
Again, more details will be coming soon, but I think we have the venue we want, a room block that will be good and nice space for a Friday Night NFBC Party!!! Our 21st anniversary season is going to be epic, so get your flights now, hold off on your hotel stay just a little longer and look for a nice announcement pretty damn soon. Can't wait to announce this!!!
Greg Ambrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius
Founder, National Fantasy Baseball Championship
General Manager, Consumer Fantasy Games at SportsHub Technologies
Twitter - @GregAmbrosius