The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas will stage a college basketball doubleheader for the first time this season in a conference center that’s being converted into a 3,500-seat arena.
Mississippi State will play Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech will play Richmond on Dec. 18 at the Atlantis. The 60,000-square-foot conference center is the home for the Atlantis’ biggest events, such as the Miss Universe pageant and concerts by Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and other pop stars. The Atlantis will construct a basketball court in the middle of the conference center and build seating around the court.
This year’s doubleheader is expected to expand into an eight-team tournament in future years. To do that, the Atlantis is petitioning the NCAA for exempt status, which means the three games of the tournament will count as just one game toward the NCAA limit of 27 games during the regular season.
“This fits with all of the big events we do here,” said George Markantonis, president of the resort. “When we decided to get into college basketball, we said let’s make it the biggest, most fantastic event ever.”
The Bahamas resort is converting convention
space into a basketball court for
the doubleheader.
It’s not unusual for warm-weather locales, such as Maui and Cancun, to serve as the site for holiday basketball tournaments. The Cancun Challenge similarly constructs a temporary basketball arena in a resort ballroom.
For this year’s doubleheader at the Atlantis, teams will receive a financial guarantee in addition to full travel and lodging expenses. It’s standard for tournaments to supply hotel rooms and pay guarantees in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, but the teams typically have to pay for their airfare and other ancillary costs. The Atlantis did not disclose its guarantee, but administrators said it’s in the $100,000 range.
New York-based Lea Miller, who is a senior consultant with the Atlantis on the event, has been working with the schools to build the field for the inaugural doubleheader and set the stage for future tournaments.
The Atlantis just finalized contracts with the four participating teams and now is seeking a television partner and sponsors. The resort will also receive revenue from ticket sales, but the primary purpose of the event is to fill hotel rooms and extend the Atlantis brand.
“From an occupancy standpoint, it is a quieter time of year for us,” Markantonis said of the 4,000-room resort on 600 acres. “Our goal with sponsorship is just to help cover our costs. We’re not looking for a huge profit out of this. We just want to create energy and excitement here while promoting our brand.”
Len Elmore, the newly named chief executive of the NCAA and NBA joint venture, iHoops.com, is expected to attend the inaugural event, Markantonis said. Teams will arrive on Thursday, Dec. 16, and a dinner for the participants is that Friday night, with the games on Saturday.
An adjacent ballroom is being prepared as a practice facility for the teams.
