Charlotte has served as host of CIAA's men’s and women’s basketball tournaments since '06CIAA
The CIAA is "re-evaluating whether it wants to host its college basketball tournaments in Charlotte," meaning the city could lose its "most lucrative annual event," according to Katherine Peralta of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. The CIAA, the country’s oldest African-American sports conference, said that it is "opening up the bidding process to find the next host city of its annual marquee men's and women's basketball tournaments" for '21. The tournament's "contract with Charlotte" runs through '20. Charlotte has hosted the tournament since '06, and the CIAA "relocated its headquarters" to Charlotte from Hampton, Va., in '14. CIAA Assistant Commissioner for Strategic Communication Bri Funte said the conference has "no plans to relocate" its HQ from Charlotte. Peralta notes hotel demand and ticket sales for the annual tournament have "softened in recent years." The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority has "not said yet whether Charlotte will submit a bid to keep the tournament." The CIAA will "announce the new host city in December" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/10). In Charlotte, Erik Spanberg noted the CIAA "doesn’t pay rent to use the arenas or the convention center, home to the annual tournament fan festival and other related events." The event includes the "men’s and women’s basketball conference championship, alumni parties, step shows, band competitions, a career fair and various community outreach programs over the course of a week in late February and early March" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/9).
