Courtesy of MAACSports.com
ALBANY, NY – Albany will welcome the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championships back into its historic city for another three years. The MAAC Council of Presidents voted on Wednesday in New York City to call the Times Union Center home for the tournaments from 2017-2019.
Albany has hosted the MAAC Basketball Championships 16 times, with the first in 1990 at the then Knickerbocker Arena. By the time the 2019 tournament is completed, the Times Union Center, formerly Knickerbocker Arena and Pepsi arena, will have hosted MAAC championships an impressive 19 times. The 2016 tournament saw nearly 30,000 fans, a 20% increase from 2015.
“The residents of the Capital District are no strangers to basketball. The MAAC student athletes provide skill and entertainment to fans during the regular season and everyone looks forward to watching them face off during Championship week. We’re excited to continue to host the MAAC Championships and show all Albany County has to offer to the MAAC member schools, their student athletes and fans,” said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy.
Following a successful first run, the Hannaford MAAC-n-Cheese Fest will return in celebration of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Championships. The inaugural tip-off event drew hundreds of basketball fans to downtown Albany to sample gourmet mac-n-cheese dishes from numerous Albany restaurants, as well as multiple varietals of craft beer from New York breweries. The event, organized by the Albany County Convention and Visitors Bureau with support from the Downtown Albany BID, raised $1,000 for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York and the Times Union Hope Fund.
“We’re thankful that the MAAC presidents have embraced the Times Union Center’s offer to host the tournament,’ notes Siena Athletic director John D’Argenio. ‘That decision speaks to the commitment Albany County has made toward college basketball. It also speaks to the commitment that Siena has made over the many decades to cultivate and grow college basketball, specifically MAAC basketball, in the Capital Region. And, bringing the tournament back to the TUC is a testament to the area’s college basketball fans.”
The well-received MAAC Awards Show will be continued to be broadcast on ESPN3. The time of the show has been moved to 10 am, at the Renaissance Hotel Ballroom.
In 2015, the Canisius College Economic Impact of 2015 MAAC Basketball Championships was measured at $3.95 million dollars that the Championship week generated economic fan activity in Albany. This includes food, travel and hotel stays from 20 visiting teams as well as visiting fans. The economic impact continued to grow in 2016 based on the report’s authors: Dr. Shawn O’Rourke, Kristen Saviola, and James Donovan with a total Spend of $3,959,025 including $2,078,159.75
“The Times Union Center and Siena College have forged a strong partnership designed funded with a mix of sponsorship dollars and public grants to remain the premier site for the MAAC Championships,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “It is a strong local economic driver during its six days at the Times Union Center as 2017 March Madness begins in Albany and ends in Phoenix for the men and Dallas for the women when a national champion will be determined for each event. No other MAAC venue has demonstrated such sustainable support and consistent fan attendance for the championships,” noted Ensor.
“The Times Union Center cannot wait to continue the tradition of hosting the MAAC. We are honored to be able to provide a place for the athletes to compete while giving our local businesses opportunities to thrive and spread positivity throughout the capital region,” said Bob Belber, SMG General Manager of Times Union Center.
The 2017 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held at the Times Union Center March 2-6, 2017. Tickets go on sale in the fall.
Ensor also noted that the MAAC Presidents considered 1, 2, and 3-year extension options, but settled on two as providing a sufficient amount of continuity for the member fans to grow accustomed to the amenities of arena, local hotels within walking distance and numerous eating spots and watering holes.
The Council also directed Commissioner Ensor to develop a strategic plan for MAAC basketball that will entail looking at alternate arena sites that can service the great number of MAAC alumni in the tristate NY Metropolitan region, a plan to increase league visibility through regular season and tournament program enhancements that ultimately would provide the league with multiple at-large bids to the NCAA Championship.
A committee composed of Presidents John Hurley of Canisius, Joe Nyre of Iona and Paul Brown of Monmouth will lead the strategic planning efforts along with commissioner Ensor. An initial report of the strategic planning effort will be made to the MAAC Council of Presidents at the October 27 & October 28, 2016 meetings held in conjunction with the MAAC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
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