The news conference will be in Atlantic City and MVP Arena general manager Bob Belber said he hasn’t been invited.
Still, Belber wasn’t willing to concede the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is going to keep its men’s and women’s basketball championships at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall rather than return the event to Albany next year and beyond.
The MAAC announced Friday it is holding a news conference at Boardwalk Hall on Tuesday afternoon to “announce the future of the MAAC Basketball Tournament.”
Atlantic City and MVP Arena put in bids to host the tournament from 2024 to 2026. Boardwalk Hall will host the 22-team event next week for the fourth straight year.
“I haven’t been invited,” Belber said with a laugh. “I don’t know honestly what they’ve decided.”
He quickly added, “I don’t look at that as a decision having been made. It’s probably more process.”
But a MAAC spokesman confirmed that, in fact, the league will announce its decision on Tuesday.
The MAAC school presidents have already voted. Siena president Chris Gibson declined comment before Thursday’s night game against Manhattan.
MVP Arena has hosted the MAAC Tournament 20 times, most recently in 2019. While the event has always drawn its biggest crowds in Albany, MVP Arena is also the homecourt of Siena men’s basketball, and some MAAC members prefer a neutral court.
Ensor also said recently that coaches and players who were asked enjoyed Atlantic City as a tournament venue.
“I’ve talked to a number of people that have been associated with the (MAAC) member schools and all of them have said they want to see how this year’s attendance goes in Atlantic City,” Belber said.
Ensor wasn’t available for comment on Friday because he was at his son’s wedding.
The required bid for the MAAC…
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