The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament is preparing to play at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore for the third year in a row, with the tournament set to tip off on Feb. 26.
Frank Remesch, the arena’s general manager, says more hotel rooms have been booked this year than in the previous two years. It is a sign that the tournament could see increased attendance after what Remesch described as a similar-sized crowd the last two years.
The CIAA Tournament is typically held in late February when Baltimore sports are dormant. The city does not have a professional basketball or hockey team, so there is a gap in the calendar when little is going on in the Baltimore sports realm.
“What it does for the city and the community is just absolutely incredible,” Remesch said. “Football’s over; baseball hasn’t started yet. This is a time when the city is hungry for atmosphere, and the CIAA brings that.”
Before the 2022 CIAA Tournament in Baltimore, the annual college basketball competition had been held in various locations across North Carolina since 1994, except 2021, which was virtual. CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams-Parker said the decision to move the tournament to Baltimore was based on the city’s reasonably priced hotels and a suitable venue.
Despite CIAA basketball teams previously playing at the Spectrum Center, the Charlotte Hornets’ arena with a capacity of 17,500, McWilliams-Parker has no issues with CFG Bank Arena’s 14,000-person capacity.
“The venue works for us,” McWilliams-Parker said. “It’s small. It’s intimate.”
2024 will be the first year the tournament has been played at the fully renovated CFG Bank Arena, which underwent renovations within the last couple of years. Remesch estimated that the 2023 CIAA Tournament was held while the renovations were 90% complete. The completed renovations will make setting up the arena easier this year.
McWilliams-Parker said at first it took much work to get people from North Carolina to come to Baltimore, but the move unlocked a new demographic of CIAA fans living in the Northeast. She also noted an extensive CIAA alumni network in the DMV as a reason why attendance is still good, even while those in North Carolina are just starting to migrate north for the tournament.
“I think it’s gotten better and better,” McWilliams-Parker said. “To get people to think differently about a new location, particularly if they’ve never spent time in Baltimore, not familiar with the area, we have folks that were adamant about not coming to Baltimore…. Our fans from North Carolina are starting to come and really support the tournament.”
But it isn’t just basketball that draws fans to the CIAA Tournament. The conference hosts other events at the Baltimore Convention Center and Rams Head Live, among other places, while the tournament is happening. The infrastructure makes McWilliams-Parker believe that Baltimore can host other large sporting events.
“I think these kinds of events help bring other events to the city. It helps me recommend other events to the city because I know what the capabilities are. Absolutely, I think it is a destination. I love Baltimore,” McWilliams-Parker said. “It’s a great place; the food is great, the people are great, and I’m seeing that the community is really catching on that we’re there.”
The CIAA Tournament is slated to be in Baltimore through at least 2026. While there are no concrete plans for where the CIAA Tournament will be after 2026, Remesch echoed McWilliams-Parker’s opinion and even alluded to other things that could be coming to Baltimore in the future.
“When promoters see how the town supports the events, it makes them want to bring more events to the building,” Remesch said. “And we are. We’re looking at different basketball games and sporting events — big, huge sporting events, too. I can’t really get into that, but it’s definitely a prelude for things to come.”
