MEAC to visit Joel again

Officials seeking host site for their basketball tourney

By John Dell | Journal Reporter

Winston-Salem is getting closer to being named the host city for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference basketball tournament.

Chico Caldwell, the athletics director at Winston-Salem State, said that a visit by MEAC officials in mid-April went very well.

"I thought they were very impressed with what we had to offer so," Caldwell said after showing off Joel Coliseum, the coliseum annex and the downtown area.

The MEAC has been shopping its tournament around since Raleigh decided not to renew after a three-year contract ran out. However, Raleigh is in the mix again, according to Caldwell.

"From what I understand, it's down to us or Raleigh," Caldwell said.

There have also been reports that Norfolk, Va., is interested in the tournament.

The MEAC Tournament had mixed results during its three years in Raleigh, but it did have a 30-percent increase in attendance this past March. According to figures released by the conference, the tournament had 38,228 fans for the week, a total that includes 8,120 for Saturday night's championship game.

Dennis Thomas, the commissioner of the MEAC, said earlier this month in a statement that he was happy with the attendance increase.

"To more than double the tournament's attendance in three years shows continued growth, and we are elated that we are able to exceed the 2007 attendance by more than 30 percent," Thomas said.

The attendance for Saturday's championship game was helped by a game played just before it between WSSU and N.C. Central. It was billed as a bonus game for prospective MEAC members.

WSSU won't be eligible for the MEAC Tournament until the 2009-10 season. That means that the Rams would not be playing in the tournament during its first year here, if the city is successful in landing it.

Bucky Dame, the director of Joel Coliseum, said that the MEAC's second round of visits will likely come next week.

"The fact that we are getting a second visit is a good sign," Dame said. "The only reading that I have on this whole process is we are a finalist, and they want to make a decision in the next couple of weeks."

Dame said that all the women's and men's games would be played at Joel Coliseum, and the annex would be used for a number of other events connected to the tournament.

The MEAC officials have considered the fact that WSSU wouldn't be playing in the first tournament here.

"I think there was mention of Winston-Salem State possible playing in another bonus game," Dame said. "The MEAC folks said that worked out nicely for them this past year in Raleigh."

The tournament would be held the same week (March 11-16, 2009) as the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, but next year's ACC Tournament will be in Atlanta.

"There was some question about hotels and the space because we do have some ACC teams and fans stay in Winston when the tournament is in Greensboro," Dame said. "But that doesn't seem to be an issue, especially the first year because the ACC will be in Atlanta."

There is also speculation that the MEAC Tournament might be held in Raleigh for one more year, and then move to Winston-Salem. Dame and Caldwell said that that's unlikely.

"They work on three-year deals, and this is a three-year contract that we are working toward," Caldwell said.

Caldwell said he thinks that a decision will be made before the MEAC's spring meetings May 19-23.

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I didn't know the MEAC was that close to making a decision.

one of the advantages that joel has is the annex. its easily within walking distance of the coliseum and the meac could hold a lot of the secondary events and first round games there. the nightlife and hotels in winston are not as appealing as raleigh or norfolk, but the meac can sponsor enough social events of its own to compensate. the other plus is that a&t is only 25 miles away which will make it even easier for aggie fans to get there than raleigh which about 75 miles away. my preferences would be raleigh #1, norfolk #2, and winston #3. at first i didn't think winston was a good idea at all, but on second thought i can see some advantages in going to winston even though my preferences are unchanged…

I don't understand why they go to Winston-Salem if they're trying to build the tournament up. I just don't see the immediate advantages.