Fun and games; All of the action isn't on the court. how Charlotte scores big hosting the CIAA basketball tournament.

• Author: Martin, Edward
• Position: PICTURE THIS - Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association

Watching from the stands, Todd Parker groans. On the floor of Charlotte Bobcats Arena, the Fayetteville State Lady Broncos are down 20-3. When a player bobbles the ball out of bounds, he smacks his palm against his brow. For this alumnus, yesterday ended just before sunrise today after a party. He had slept in at La Quinta Inn & Suites until about noon, starting his day just in time to make the 1 o'clock tipoff. The 46-year-old substance-abuse counselor from Winston-Salem will be here six days in all. He'll spend? "I'd rather not think about it. Well, maybe $500 a day. Uh, maybe more."

This is the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, which draws fans like Parker who put a gleam in the banker's eye and palpitate the heart of the hotelier. They're why tournaments are pursued like a loose ball in a tight game. "Competition to host these events is probably more intense than at any time in history," says Nicholas Didow Jr., associate professor of marketing at UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Charlotte hosted three in a five-week stretch of February and March this year. Thought the men's Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and NCAA East Regional finals attract more coverage and headlines, their economic impact pales before the CIAA's.

Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority research pegs direct spending from this year's tournament at more than $20.5 million and its total economic impact at $30.7 million, up nearly 14% from 2007. Economic impact of the four-day ACC and Thursday-and-Saturday NCAA matches is estimated at between $15 million and $20 million each. "The CIAA has a great slogan--CIAA for Life--and for a lot of these folks, this is the biggest vacation week of the year," says Tim Newman, Visitors Authority CEO. "They spend more pet patron than anybody will at a tournament."

That's because the event is about more than just games to determine the men's and women's tournament titles. Founded in 1912, the Hampton, Va.-based CIAA is the nation's oldest athletic conference of historically black colleges. For the alumni of schools that are members, the tournament is an excuse for a nearly weeklong romp. On a given day, close to 50 parties, sorority and fraternity reunions, cheerleading exhibitions, step shows and celebrity concerts are under way at venues large and small. Companies are out in force. Ford Motor Co. sponsors the CIAA Ford Fan Experience at the nearby Charlotte Convention Center. It...