Times Union Center to Host 2015-17 MAAC Basketball Championships
MAAC Sports
Edison, N.J. – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has announced that the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. has been selected to host the 2015-17 MAAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. The arena’s bid was accepted on a unanimous vote by MAAC Council of Presidents at their May 28 meeting in New York City. Monmouth University and Quinnipiac University were participants in their first official meeting of the expanded 11-team MAAC.
The championships return to Albany after four years. The Webster Bank Arena (Bridgeport, Conn.) hosted in 2011 and the MassMutual Center (Springfield, Mass.) hosted in 2012 and 2013, and will do so again in 2014 on March 6-10. The MAAC will also be returning to a home arena venue with the acceptance of the Times Union Center bid after the three years at a neutral site for the championships. The MAAC Council of Presidents also expressed an interest in rotating the championship in future bid cycles to MAAC home cities after examining how the return to the TUC is reviewed by the league’s membership.
"I am thrilled the Times Union Center has been awarded the bid to host the 2015 - 2017 MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. Albany has had the honor of hosting the MAAC for 15 out of 24 years, and in 2010, we set a new record for attendance when 53,569 people attended the championships. In addition to two exciting college basketball championships, the Capital District will see a positive impact for the local economy. We are honored to once again have the MAAC Championships tip off in Albany, "said Bob Belber, SMG General Manager of Times Union Center.
“The MAAC membership was pleased that multiple venues expressed an interest in hosting the 2015-17 basketball championships and that the interest extended to home team venues and neutral sites,” noted MAAC Commissioner Richard Ensor. “In evaluating the bids, as in the last bid cycle, the MAAC required that the league’s minimum financial, ancillary event hosting and budget thresholds be met by the bid cities. Albany and other sites met this standard, with the TUC bid being selected because of its history of high attendance, downtown hotels and restaurants for the fans to utilize, and the experience of Albany’s Local Organizing Committee on hosting successful events with the MAAC and Siena College.”
“The Times Union Center is a jewel and premier sports and entertainment venue,” said Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy. “Bringing the MAAC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships back to Albany will be like welcoming home a member of the family. We have a huge college basketball fan base, and our location is ideal for those in neighboring states to make the short trip to Albany. We look forward to opening our doors once again to the MAAC, its member institutions and their fans.”
Albany has hosted the MAAC Basketball Championships 15 prior times, with the first in 1990 at the then Knickerbocker Arena, which was in its first month of operation. The single-game attendance record for the MAAC at the TUC was 11,844 set on March 6, 2000 when Iona defeated Siena, 84-80. The overall championship attendance record was set in 2010 when 53,569 fans attended the championships. On three other occasions, in 2000, 2009 and 2010, the MAAC had over 50,000 fans attend the championships in Albany.
"Earning the MAAC Championships back is a testament to the basketball fans in the Capital Region who support college basketball,” noted Siena Director of Athletic John D’Argenio. “The TUC gives all member schools an energized environment to compete in and the atmosphere rivals that of any college basketball championships. Bringing back the MAAC Championships does not happen without the fans, the TUC management and the leadership from the County Executive."
“I believe the Times Union Center is the best place for the fans, and the MAAC brand looks great because the location provides easy access for all the schools and their fans,” notes Siena College Men’s Basketball Coach Jimmy Patsos. “When I was at Loyola, I said the same thing, and the student-athletes really enjoyed the experience.”
In 2013, the MAAC generated over $2.3 million in economic fan activity in Springfield as calculated by an UMass Isenberg School of Business Economic Impact Study. This figure did not account for the approximately $15,000 a day in travel, housing and meal expenses associated with each of the 20 visiting teams in Springfield. With the expansion to 11 member schools in 2014, and the return to Albany in 2015, this economic impact is expected to grow considerably.
“I want to thanks all the arenas and local organizing committees that bid for the championships,” added Ensor. “It is great to have options, and the decisions are never easy as the MAAC membership seeks to find the best possible host city.”