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Tourism board leader 'confident' in quality of Charlotte CIAA bid

Credit: Charlotte Business Journal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An attempt to ease tensions last week by the leader of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority Board over an unsuccessful bid to keep a college basketball tournament resulted in a second round of rebukes from the head of the City Council’s economic development committee.

[READ MORE: CIAA Commissioner cites scholarships, hotel rates in tournament move to Baltimore]

Earlier this month, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association disclosed plans to move its annual tournament to Baltimore in 2021, prompting council Democrat James Mitchell and other prominent African-Americans to question whether the Charlotte bid was competitive. The CIAA Tournament generated $29 million in visitor spending in 2018 and $50.5 million in overall economic benefit, according to figures compiled by the visitors authority.

Charlotte’s bid for the 2021-23 tournaments totaled $2.6 million per year, including waived rental fees at city-owned buildings. Baltimore has yet to publicly disclose its bid, but CIAA Commissioner Jacqie McWilliams told CBJ earlier this month the proposal was worth $3.5 million.

Mitchell called Charlotte’s pitch “piss-poor” and promised to propose requirements for increased council oversight of bids for major tourism events. Tom Murray, CEO of the visitors authority, has said the tournament likely moved because the conference’s board wanted to have the event rotate among multiple cities rather than stay in one place. Murray has said the visitors authority wants to bring the CIAA back and will pursue the tournament during the next bid cycle in 2022.

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