CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tips off this week and is expected to bring more than $55 million in economic impact to Charlotte.
“It’s the single-largest event that we have on an annual basis here in Charlotte,” said Tom Murray, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority.
Hotels, restaurants, and local businesses are hoping for an influx of customers and cash.
“It’s about 10 times the people, just constant craziness,” said Nina Richardson, manager of Mert’s Heart and Soul in uptown.
The restaurant is adding an extra shift and plans to stay open until 3 a.m. to accommodate the customers.
This year is the 11th year Charlotte has been home to the CIAA tournament. This year, crowds are expected to top 150,000 people. CMPD is working on security plans to address such a large-scale event.
“The CMPD will have a full complement of officers staffed to assist attendees and ensure the CIAA tournament remains a safe event,” said Robert Tufano.
Party promoter Sport E. Odie says he is partnering with CMPD to ensure his eight scheduled events of the week are all safe.
“We double down the numbers. I would say our security bill for the night parties alone is close to $15,000,” Sport said. “We want to make sure we send them back smiling, only saying positive things, but we also want to make sure they make it back, you know what I mean?”
Charlotte will play host to the tournament for at least another few years.
Murray says the economic impact “does wonders for our community.” He points to the success of tournaments like the CIAA as one of the reasons why Charlotte will play host to the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2017.
Those two events combined are expected to bring more revenue than the Democratic National Convention.
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