Raleigh must play tough D to keep CIAA tournament.

• Author: Roush, Chris
• Position: SPORTS SECTION - Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association - Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau

How are things going?" David Heinl asks a visitor. "What can we improve on?" he says to another. Heinl, chief executive of the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, works the luxury boxes of the RBC Center in Raleigh in late February, schmoozing with the presidents and chancellors of the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association during the conference's annual basketball tournament.

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Some complain about parking. Others want to know if anything can be done to get alumni and fans into the arena quicker between games--while fans and alums of other teams are leaving. Heinl takes notes. "Most everything else, they're pleased with."

He hopes so. The CIAA, based in Hampton, Va., plans to seek bids this month from as many as four other cities interested in hosting the tournament, which has been held in Raleigh since it left Winston-Salem after 1999. In September or October, the presidents and chancellors will meet to pick a host city for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

At stake is an event that pumps millions of dollars into the local economy and has grown every year that it has been held in Raleigh. This year, the tournament boosted the economy by $11.5 million, up 12.7% from $10.2 million in 2003, according to the bureau's estimates. It also generated nearly $1 million in tax revenue.

Raleigh will host it again in 2005, and CIAA Commissioner Leon Kerry says the state capital has the inside track to keep it. But Charlotte, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., will bid for it, and Richmond, Va., also might. Raleigh beat out Richmond, Winston-Salem and Fayetteville to win the event through 2002. It fended off Charlotte and Richmond to keep it through 2005.

Charlotte's bid could get a boost from the downtown arena the city is building for its new National Basketball Association franchise, which begins play this fall. Atlanta and Washington also can mount formidable bids. Both have hosted other college basketball tournaments, and both count large numbers of CIAA alumni as residents.

"The event is attractive because, No. 1, it's a well-known social event," says Bill McMillan, director of marketing and business development for the Charlotte Regional Sports Commission. "When we went to the one in Raleigh a couple of years ago, we just had a great time. That leads to No. 2, which is the economic impact."

Competition for the event means the conference will ask cities to generate more scholarship money for CIAA schools. Under the current...