New Orleans Named Host Site of Future Sun Belt Basketball Championships
By: Josh Rultenberg
Updated: February 5, 2013
From the Sun Belt:
NEW
ORLEANS - The 2014 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Basketball
Championships will be held at Lakefront Arena in New Orleans the league
office announced today.
New Orleans will be the host site of the tournament through 2016.
"All
of the characteristics that make New Orleans one of the greatest
tourist destinations in the world will guarantee that the Sun Belt
Conference's student-athletes,
fans, coaches and administrators will love coming to the Big Easy every
March," said Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation CEO Jay Cicero. "We
look forward to playing an important role in making this one of the
NCAA's best conference tournaments."
Lakefront
Arena previously hosted the 2002 Sun Belt Championships. This
time-around the venue will be featured as a neutral site arena - marking
the third arena to
host the Sun Belt as a neutral court.
"New
Orleans is a great destination for our basketball championships and the
recent renovations to Lakefront Arena make it an excellent venue to
showcase our league,"
said Sun Belt Conference Commissioner Karl Benson. "In addition to
being a great geographical fit for our membership, New Orleans has an
incredible track record of hosting great sporting events - including the
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl which has had a
Sun Belt participant since the inaugural game in 2001. The city's great
restaurants, shopping, entertainment and accommodations, provide Sun
Belt fans numerous things to do when away from the arena."
Lakefront
Arena has recently undergone renovations that include a new $3.5
million exterior metal facade and sloped roof panels, a $1.5 million
state-of-the-art bitumen
roof system, $2.5 million in new seating with 8,700 chairs total, $1.2
million in ramp renovations, new flooring throughout the second level
concourse, new tiles and restroom fixtures throughout, arena lighting
upgrades, a new sound system and the building
of two new lounges.
"New
Orleans is a great destination for Sun Belt fans, as those who have
attended the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl can attest," said Dr. Jack
Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor
of Troy University and President of the Sun Belt Conference Executive
Committee. "It provides an excellent geographical fit for our league and
is easily reachable for our fans. As we make this announcement,
however, I would be remiss if I did not thank the
City of Hot Springs for four and soon to be five memorable tournaments,
starting in 2009."
The
announcement of the relocation of the tournament comes with a year left
on the existing agreement that the Sun Belt Conference has with the
city of Hot Springs.
Both parties mutually agreed to split ways on the heels of the fifth
consecutive tournament being hosted in Hot Springs, March 8-11.
"The
city of Hot Springs and the Hot Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau
have been terrific for the Sun Belt Conference," said Commissioner
Benson. "When Hot Springs
began hosting the tournament in 2009 it was the first neutral site that
the Sun Belt had used in over twenty years. The leadership of Steve
Arrison and his staff made the existence of a neutral site basketball
tournament for the Sun Belt possible."
"We
have had a great partnership with the Sun Belt Conference over the past
five years and are looking forward to a great tournament come March,"
said Hot Spring Convention
and Visitors Bureau CEO Steve Arrison. "We originally had only a three
year deal with the Sun Belt and are fortunate that next month we will
have had five outstanding Sun Belt tournaments here in Hot Springs."
Dates for the 2014 tournament will be announced at a later time.
