CIAA Tournament

[Subway Scoundrel]

Also, look out for "Mr. CIAA" !!!!!!!!!!! He will wear a different suit (and colorful suit at that) each game or even between games. He owns a small chain of funeral parlors and I think he brings his hearse down. A lot of characters and character at the tourney. I have never been to a game but I know people who take the week off from work and they went to ACC schools.

It is one big party and has been for years.

[lupitachica]

Congrats Charlotte you guys have a first class event these folks are going to spend a ton of money in your city you should feel good because it's a win,win sitution because most of your taxpayer money will be helping people get a good education and it's just going to add a lot of flava to your city trust me your are going to be fighting tooth and nail to keep this event at the end of 2008, you can't help but fall in love with this event.

And flava is what is sorely missing at times. Being from the east, I've never experienced the CIAA tourny but I've heard things that make me think its similar to the Bayou Classic or Florida Classic(except basketball). As the popularity of these games grow the city stands to make a ton of money. The Bayou Classic earns its city atleast a 10mil economic boost for what is essentially a 1 day event. This CIAA tourny is like a week long, right?

I have a few relatives & friends that are coming down for the weekend just because of this tournament - some HSBC alumni some not. The R&B/hip hop radio stations have been promoting the parties and the tourny as well. If this thing is handled properly there could be many positive benefits. There's a "finally, something for us" vibe around and it seems like many people are looking forward to this kind of event. I've often heard grumblings about there not being a lot of things to do and places to go that are particularly welcoming to blacks - deserved or not. This tournament might help change that perception.

[RALBOI]

And flava is what is sorely missing at times. Being from the east, I've never experienced the CIAA tourny but I've heard things that make me think its similar to the Bayou Classic or Florida Classic(except basketball). As the popularity of these games grow the city stands to make a ton of money. The Bayou Classic earns its city atleast a 10mil economic boost for what is essentially a 1 day event. This CIAA tourny is like a week long, right?

I have a few relatives & friends that are coming down for the weekend just because of this tournament - some HSBC alumni some not. The R&B/hip hop radio stations have been promoting the parties and the tourny as well. If this thing is handled properly there could be many positive benefits. There's a "finally, something for us" vibe around and it seems like many people are looking forward to this kind of event. I've often heard grumblings about there not being a lot of things to do and places to go that are particularly welcoming to blacks - deserved or not. This tournament might help change that perception.

You hit it on the head this is on that level and more ,about around thur to sat uptown is going to jumping like time square, and far as those perceptions go they will go right out the window because money talks, up here in Raleigh our leaders talk about how we took this event to new heights and we did,the CIAA took black folks in Raleigh to new heights also because it showed our economic power something never seen before in the Capital city and it also made Raleigh cool yes that's right! good old Raleigh,Raleigh is now full of clubs and bars i have cats from NYC telling me YO SON RALEIGH's COOL!!! am like what!, so it's going to have that effect on your city too Hey if you have time come to Raleigh check out the MEAC tourny sense Raleigh is cool now we are going to try and pump some life into this tourny it will take time but it will happen one love from Raleigh to Charlotte good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Southernyank]

I got my ticket book and will be attending all of the games and events these weeks. A lot of People I talk to last night said that they felt pretty welcomed to charlotte, but wished that the tournament had stayed in Raleigh due to the increase in ticket prices.

[monsoon]

There was a man on the news last night, WBTV I believe, that was talking about how he didn't really feel "welcomed" to Charlotte. He was saying that there are not enough signs nor enough Charlotte citizens and store employees extending their welcome to him. Do you think Charlotte has done enough to welcome these thousands of people to our city?

Well outside the center city, I don't think most local people know much about the event as there is no presence beyond the I-277 loop. There is 0 publicity up here at The Lake. From where I sit, it would seem to be just another convention and not nearly as big as a NASCAR race for example.

[Southernyank]

Hey if you have time come to Raleigh check out the MEAC tourny sense Raleigh is cool now we are going to try and pump some life into this tourny it will take time but it will happen one love from Raleigh to Charlotte good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wait, so the MEAC is in Raleigh now? I love the MEAC tourney, more than CIAA. when I was at Howard, the MEAC was the thing to look forward too.

[RALBOI]

Wait, so the MEAC is in Raleigh now? I love the MEAC tourney, more than CIAA. when I was at Howard, the MEAC was the thing to look forward too.

Hey man were have you been it's going to be in Raleigh March 6 to the 11 come on up we would love to have you join us for all the events an parties it's going to be off the chains!!!!!

[Southernyank]

Marking it in my calander

[dubone]

Does the fact that the arena is operated by Bob Johnson make a difference for people in feeling welcome?

[lupitachica]

Here's the link to the website (in case it hasn't been posted already): http://www.ciaatournament.org/html/.

I believe whether or not a person becomes aware of this tourny has a lot to do with the type of community and social circles he/she is in. CIAA is a HSBC basketball tourny (I'm a HSBC alum though not any of the ones in the tournament) so it holds more appeal. Not to mention all the sororities and fraternities are doing fundraisers and parties. I think the event is being heavily promoted to a mid 20s crowd into R&B and hip hop. There's a Rocafella party with DJ Clue - for Charlotte that's pretty hip, I think. Events like these may help Charlotte curb the image of being ATL's corny cousin. I think for professionals and HSBC alumi there's a perception that ATL has more "going on" and a more thriving profession class w/ powerful players in the city.

Ralboi, a friend of mine graduated from Shaw and I enjoyed Raleigh whenever I visited.

[monsoon]

Does the fact that the arena is operated by Bob Johnson make a difference for people in feeling welcome?

And Nelly

[dubone]

Yeah, the Bobcat's only seem to play hard rock and country. I went to a game where Nelly and Ashanti were in attendance, and they never even played a single one of their songs.

Even in Chapel Hill, with its wine and cheese crowd, they'll play Nelly songs.

Hopefully the CIAA tourny will play some music worthy of basketball. Those speakers won't know what hit 'em.

[NcSc74]

It's come out that the city and county had to spend more than $1 million in tax money to lure the tournament to Charlotte and that considering the other costs, such as the increased police presence, the cost/benefit return to the city/county may not be worth it.

In comparison the Bass Master's tournament last year brought in just as much money and it only cost the taxpayers $50,000. And the Wachovia championship golf tournmanment brought in $40,000,000 and it did not cost the city anything.

So your are saying an average of 100,000 people(alumni, baskeball coaches, players and fans with family) will not make up the cost difference. Not only that the added airplay of the Charlotte name are all pluses to me. The CIAA may not be a big deal to most of you but a lot of people from the East coast it is. To to have the conference tourny in your city(uptown- which more activity is what was wanted) is major. I am sure there a few other cities that would love to host it.

[monsoon]

The expected economic benefit to the city is $12,000,000 before expenses. It's explained above. The point is how many $12,000,000 events do the taxpayers attempt to lure here at $1,000,000+ a pop? Rmember the taxpayers pay and the $12,000,000 goes into private pockets. (mainly hotel owners and downtown bars and restaurants) Most of the sales taxes generated by the event go to the state.

Since this is taxpayer money, it's very valid to compare to other events. The economic benefit from the Bass Masters is just as great as the CIAA and that only costs the taxpayers $50,000. That means you could hold 20 events like this for just what the CIAA cost. It's events such as this that are the barometer on how far taxes should be raised to attract events to the city.

[dubone]

It is definitely valid to compare the other events, but I definitely still think it all was a sound investments for our elected officials to make.

The $265m investment in the arena used funds that had to spent on something that improved tourism and helped the hotel industry, which pays the tax. I am confident that when studies are done detailing the track record, that it will have been a sound investment.

Now that $265m investment has provided the infrastructure, we now just need to spend a little bit every few years to win commitments from events to go there. Not only is the $12m+ of private money spent here new money to this city, but it fills the hotels, which are paying into the tourism funds that pay for the bonds on the arena. I am confident that the city will not need to bailout that fund to pay the arena bonds.

The CIAA tournament and the impact that it is already having are really exciting. 25 years of similar events happening downtown, supporting nightlife, hotels, restaurants, and potential downtown street retail, make me very excited. The best part, in my view, is that is helps create the critical mass of people to start accellerating the urbanization of downtown and the prescence of new retail in town.

[Durhamite]

The expected economic benefit to the city is $12,000,000 before expenses. It's explained above. The point is how many $12,000,000 events do the taxpayers attempt to lure here at $1,000,000+ a pop? Rmember the taxpayers pay and the $12,000,000 goes into private pockets. (mainly hotel owners and downtown bars and restaurants) Most of the sales taxes generated by the event go to the state.

Since this is taxpayer money, it's very valid to compare to other events. The economic benefit from the Bass Masters is just as great as the CIAA and that only costs the taxpayers $50,000. That means you could hold 20 events like this for just what the CIAA cost. It's events such as this that are the barometer on how far taxes should be raised to attract events to the city.

I have no problems with comparisons, but how about Apples to Apples. My question to the Charlotte Observer author of that article was how much is Charlotte paying to attract the ACC tournament and NCAA regionals in 2008 (I'm sure it's quite lofty).

The three most attending basketball tournaments are:

No. 1 ACC

No. 2 Big East

No. 3 CIAA

Why did the author of that article even mention additional city amenities (police officers, etc); they have the same requirements for the ACC tournament; maybe in greater mass.

Atlanta's estimate for the ACC tournament in 2000 was around 120,000 people with an economic impact of $30 million. The CIAA in Raleigh has averaged around 110,000 people with an economic impact of $12 million (Div I vs Div II schools). I'm not sure if the Raleigh figure includes the impact on the entire Triangle which would be substantially higher than the estimated $12 million.

You can't compare a Bass and Golf tournament to a basketball tournament or a Bowl game.

[eastsider]

The 2005 NCAA Tournament's 1st & 2nd round games in Charlotte had an estimated impact of $10-15 million, so the CIAA's seem to be along the same lines.

[redjeep77]

anybody got any pics of the excitement?

[Seabreeze]

all I can say is WOW! Uptown is jam-packed. It took me 15 minutes to drive a block. I am amazed at how much exposure this is getting our little city, and am so excited this will be coming back for atleast the next few years!

I really like how they have the spotlights shining off all the skyscrapers! Exciting times

[Sabaidee]

Well I know all the local resturants, bars and clubs are generating lots of revenue. Fuel Pizza on South College was packed at 12 AM. Even if maybe the city isn't making much off the $1 Million to lure the CIAA, it's still great to see Uptown full of people. Just wait until the CIAA is over to get info on the actual figures for the economic impact. Though, when Charlotte was trying to lure the CIAA, the State with the help of House Speaker Jim Black, and the Black Legislature Caucus Chair and the Co-Chair of the House Apporiation Cmte (all from Charlotte-Mecklenburg) all worked together to secure $500,000 to help pay in luring the CIAA which went to Visit Charlotte for promotion of the event.

[dubone]

I thought the paper said something like 250k from Charlotte, 250k from Meck, and 500k from NC to pay the 1m scholarship fund. It seems that all could get quite a bit of that back in sales taxes alone.

It is awesome to have all those people spending money in uptown Charlotte, and soaking in the atmosphere. I'm sure the city will will a lot of new fans this weekend.

[dubone]

I know it is just a single example, but it is by far the wonderful stereotype buster I've seen this weekend. In front of me in line for lunch today, was a black woman here in town for the CIAA tournament.

Okay, now let me describe her. She wore her pink and green AKA sweater. She had Louis-Vuitton leather sneakers on, and Gucci sunglasses. She pulled out her blackberry phone halfway through the line and said, "Yeah, I'll need to meet a client at the Belk South Park at 1 and then I'll join you". Then when she paid, she pulled out a serious wad of cash, paid, and then drove away in her BMW.

I love it.

[Mobuchu]

Here's a quick couple of pics I took today. The streets and sidewalks were packed!! These are just people shots.

[Creasy336]

Uptowns' streets were loaded with traffic until around 4 A.M. this morning. The downtown scene was amazing. I attended Magic Johnson's free after party last night at the Howard Johnson. Up here in univeristy city the hotels are jam packed. This tournament is turning out great for the city.

[dubone]

What is great is that it is earning some new money from the hotel-motel tax that was used to pay for the arena. Hopefully they'll crunch the numbers and find that there is now room in that section of the budget because of all these new visitors to add a contribution to the Arts Master Plan.