This morning’s press conference at Visit Baltimore celebrated some very sensational news! It was announced that the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is coming to Baltimore. The CAA Men’s Basketball Championship will be held at the 1st Mariner Arena starting 2014, through 2015 and 2016. To give some background on the CAA, they have had 13 NCAA Tournament victories in the past 7 years and the total attendance at the championship for the past five years has surpassed 42,000 spectators. For the past 23 years the Championship was held at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Va.
There are many reasons why Baltimore is great fit for this Championship. One is the fact that Baltimore is a prime location, more than 370,000 alumni from the CAA reside within 100 miles from the city. The city provides over 130 attractions including tons of restaurants, hotels and shops. The 1st Mariner Arena is a neutral site with seating for 11,800 spectators, Frank Remesch the General Manager of the facility had this to say ” As the Arena celebrates its 50th Anniversary, it seems only fitting that we announce the return of college basketball, we are proud to continue to bring ground breaking sports and entertainment to Baltimore”.
The key people in making this relationship happen include Tom Yeager- the CAA Commissioner, the Mayor’s Office, the State of Maryland Office of Sports Marketing,Visit Baltimore and the 1st Mariner Arena. Terry Hasseltine- the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing Director stated “the sports landscape in Maryland has once again achieved another outstanding milestone with this important announcement. We are extremely proud of the partnerships and working relationships we have forged in the process to bring this premier collegiate sporting event to Maryland”. For more information visit the CAA’s blog.
