The SEC Women's basketball tournament is underway in Nashville and I fondly remember the days when the tournament was played at UTC's McKenzie Arena. The initial season the event was played in Chattanooga was 1993 when Vanderbilt coached by current Mocs' head coach Jim Foster won the title beating Andy Landers Georgia squad. I was one of the several play-by-play announcers doing the game on radio and television and was fortunate enough to be able to broadcast the championship game on radio. There were four of us who split the entire tournament on radio including myself, Chris Goforth, Larry Ward and even the late Bill Nash. It was a wonderful four day event.
The Tennessee Lady Vols coached by the late Pat Summitt won four of the seven tournaments that were played in the Scenic City, including the last two. But when the event left for the final time in 2000, (It left for one year, going to Columbus, Georgia in 1998 but came back the next season) league officials said it would likely never return to Chattanooga, because the tournament had "outgrown" McKenzie Arena. Seating capacity has never been the problem. The Tournament drew more than 40,000 fans at McKenzie compared to a little more than 36,000 last year in Greenville, South Carolina. The problem is, logistically speaking, the arena is too small for everything else the event needs. More locker rooms, larger areas for television and more space for the media is what is keeping any big-time tournament from coming back to Chattanooga.
UTC spent 1.5 million dollars a couple of years ago to update McKenzie Arena, but that isn't a drop in the bucket compared to what college basketball events now require. So, I imagine the bottom line is this: Chattanooga needs a bigger more modern arena before being able to host basketball tournaments like the SEC again. McKenzie Arena is now 36 years old and is more than capable of housing UTC's men's and women's teams as well as some high school events but that's about it.
Chattanooga is a beautiful and progressive city. It has continued to grow in population and the city's tourism industry has made our city one of the south's "must see" destinations. The big question to ask is this; Would it be profitable or prudent to spend the money to build a new 15,000 plus capacity arena with all logistics necessary to bring back the SEC and NCAA Tournaments? My answer is yes. The economic impact for the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament the last time it was here was almost 11 million dollars. That's 11 million dollars for a four day event. Think of other events you could bring in here, like the NCAA Tournament or some of the bigger AAU events. Chattanooga has never been a city that wanted to spend a lot of money to make money, so a new arena is likely not going to happen.
I like Chattanooga just the way it is. It is hands down the most beautiful city in Tennessee and one of the most beautiful cities in the south. If we never get a big-time basketball tournament back here, I'm okay with it. But if we want to continue to be a progressive urban area, it might be time to look at building a new arena and convention center. Just sayin'.
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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com