http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...bs-sp-caa-tournament-0227-20150226-story.html
Barely a week ahead of the
Colonial Athletic Association's second men's basketball championship at Royal Farms Arena, commissioner Tom Yeager stressed that this year's event will tell both the league and the city a lot about the viability of a contract extension beyond 2016.
Yeager said Thursday that the tournament, which began a three-year contract in Baltimore in 2014, has plenty to build on from last year, and talks will "heat up significantly once … we have two years of performance to look at."
"We're looking at it as a very important year, that we want to demonstrate to Baltimore that this is an event that's worthy of their time and effort, and vice versa," Yeager said. "We want to make it work, but it also has to work for Baltimore, the hotels and restaurants, to help to support the city's efforts."
"Obviously, we'd love to extend here in Baltimore, and hopefully [this year's tournament] a great success, as we anticipate it to be."
Discussions between
Visit Baltimore, the city's marketing organization, and the league about a new deal began in the fall, Yeager said.
Ticket sales for this year's tournament have been on the same pace as last year's, which brought a four-day total of 19,065 fans to the arena, Yeager said. Heading into the final weekend of league play, several tournament seeds are up for grabs, making it difficult for fans to know when their school will play.
