Officials thought they rolled out the red carpet.
That’s how Capital Region Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Eagan framed the way Albany welcomed the eight teams and more than 14,000 fans in town this weekend for NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament games.
“The red carpet is out,” Eagan said Friday during a press conference in front of the Albany War Room downtown. He later added: “It's really about putting a spotlight on our community.”
But officials may not love some of the early reviews that have come from all that extra attention.
“Seattle was great for us. We were in a great hotel,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said Friday of her No. 1 team’s time in the Pacific Northwest during last year’s tournament.
And how about this year’s Albany Super Regional?
“Albany, obviously, the hotels aren't as plentiful, and maybe as nice,” Bluder said at MVP Arena, just a couple blocks from where officials like Eagan, Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis and Discover Albany President and CEO Jill Delaney were celebrating the tournament’s local economic impact – to the tune of $8.6 million – and touting the region’s ability to be a great host.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey wasn’t exactly giving out five stars, either.
Asked about whether she’s a fan of the supersite model in women’s college basketball, which gathers eight teams in one location rather than dividing the later rounds of the tournament into four sites like the men’s tournament, Mulkey mentioned the accommodations.
“When you bring in eight teams, do you have eight hotels that are all of equal value, you know, that are all the same? Probably not,” said Mulkey, whose defending champion Tigers are a 3-seed this year. “When you get to a Sweet 16, some people will never go past the Sweet 16. It's a big deal. And so are the accommodations, whether it's food, hotels, anything, are they all going to be of equal – what's the word I'm looking for – equal value, I guess. I get concerned about that.”
In case you didn’t catch Mulkey’s drift, she continued: “I know we do seeding, and the higher seeds get the nicer hotels, but maybe we'll reach a place one day when we can get the [tournament location] bids to people who can say, ‘Here are our eight hotels, and they're all great.’”
Sounds like Mulkey’s grievances went a bit beyond wanting a fluffier pillow or an extra tiny bottle of shampoo.
Media commentators only piled on. For instance, on X (formerly Twitter), Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb declared of Albany and Portland, Oregon, which is the tournament’s other regional host: “Jeezus are those two awful sites.”
Of course, the hotel problem isn’t new in our region. After the men’s NCAA tournament came in 2003, it didn’t return until last year. Complaints about hotel accommodations were a big reason why.
In response, Albany opened more premium hotel offerings, such as the renovated Renaissance on State Street unveiled in 2015. Still, the supply clearly remains stretched by major events. For last year’s men’s tournament, which brought in eight teams for first-round games over a busy St. Patrick’s Day weekend, teams stayed at hotels across the region, including at Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady. While that benefitted the region more broadly, lengthy travel time between the venue and hotel is no doubt an inconvenience that won’t exactly help Albany beat out competing bidders for future NCAA tournament games.
This year, Delaney, of Discover Albany, said officials tried accommodating all teams closer to MVP Arena.
Convenience may have improved.
Conditions still appear to be lacking.
“We do struggle a little bit,” Delaney said of accessible high-end hotels. “And I certainly would not be opposed to having another large [hotel] near this location. We're standing right across from the beautiful Albany Capital Center, and there are times where I don't have enough hotels to bring a convention into that building. So if somebody wants to build, we're all ears.”
The problem is Albany lacks consistent tourism demand, Delaney said.
“What happens if we add more hotel rooms when it's not a major event like this?” Delaney said. “So that's the balance that people who look at investing in this region have to weigh.”
Outside of major sporting events or a – fingers crossed – Bruce Springsteen concert, on many weekends downtown Albany barely has enough visitors to field a full basketball team.
“What we are going to see this weekend, with thousands of people coming in, the money pouring into businesses, people around and in the hotels, the bars, the restaurants, we've gotta make this happen every weekend in Albany,” said Samuel Fein, who represents downtown on the Albany County Legislature. “We need to think bigger. We need to believe in what Albany can be.”
Downtown Albany could become a thriving, walkable downtown, drawing everyone from history buffs to bicycle enthusiasts, but it is going to take major overhauls. It’s going to take reimagining the city’s riverfront, continuing to build housing and adding staples such as a grocery store – all conversations that have been happening but have also been ongoing since well before my days at Albany High in the early aughts.
“We have our challenges, just as everyone does. Everyone knows that. But what we also have is the perseverance to not stop, to keep going to promote our city and promote the good things that are happening,” said Ellis, the Albany Common Council president. “And that's what this is about, right? This is the capital city. And so when the capital city throws out its welcome mat, we all have to be excited for that.”
Problem is, Albany thought it rolled out a proper welcome mat this weekend.
Instead, the region became something of a doormat.
What steps, then, will leaders take from here?