Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 4, 1991 TAG: 9103020374
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BETH MACY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Two-thousand pounds of wienies are on order.
And a party tent extending from the Roanoke Civic Center coliseum to the auditorium is being erected for the occasion.
All this without even a mention of the word basketball.
So just how much is this week's Metro Conference tournament an excuse to throw lots of parties?
"We're not talking about a convention of Tupperware dealers coming to town," says Laban Johnson, Roanoke's special events coordinator. "This is a tremendous excuse to party."
But behind all their talk of fun and festivities, Johnson and his cronies have an ulterior motive:
The number-crunchers predict people will sleep, eat, drink and shop to the tune of $7 million during this three-day event.
And, the theory goes, a lot of that will trickle back into the city via sales taxes and tourists who like Roanoke so much they just might want to come back - and spend even more money.
So like a businessman putting the schmooze on a prospective client, Roanoke is going out of its way to be the perfect host.
Brunches are planned for the big shots. A $7,000-a-week tent has been rented as party central for the fans.
Alumni entourages from the eight schools in the conference have each been assigned a home-base hotel. Downtown bars and restaurants are also taking on team-headquarters responsibilities, many of them adding breakfast and late-night dinner selections to their menus.
"I had one restaurant owner tell me he'd have to teach himself how to flip eggs again," says Anne Marie McHugh of Downtown Roanoke Inc., which, along with the convention and visitors bureau, is passing out welcome packets to tourists.
From Wednesday supper to Sunday-morning brunch, look for the City Market and beyond to turn into a sea of rivaling fans and school colors.
"True sports fans will be coming here who are well-educated and well-heeled," says Johnson, who has been planning for the event the past year and a half.
"A lot of them, it's the only time of the year they get to see their team play, or run into their old friends from college and talk about whether to fire or keep the coach."
And, yes, party like they're back in the frat hall again.
We've compiled an outline of the tournament social scene ranked by order of exclusivity, from the top down. The list doesn't include all the impromptus that are bound to pop up in hotel rooms and on truck tailgates; those are up to you to find - or to avoid.
\ FOR INVITEES ONLY like university presidents, city officials, important sports guys and people who donate lots of money to their alma mater:
\ The Metro Tip-off Reception, to be held Wednesday from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Roanoke Airport Marriott, is the tournament's main official party. With a guest list of 700, it'll feature drinks and heavy hors d'oeuvres, plus live entertainment. Sponsored by the Tech-Roanoke tournament host committee, the event and others in this category are free to invitees. Party-crashers not welcome.
\ Brunches: Thursday morning features a Roanoke Country Club brunch for spouses of conference coaches and college presidents called "A Taste of Virginia." On Friday morning, university presidents will do brunch at Tech president James McComas' house.
\ And the official city-sponsored\ Mayor's Championship Reception will be held Saturday night at the civic center before the final game.
\ FOR GARDEN-VARIETY FANS AND SPECTATORS, the best official party will be lodged in between the civic center coliseum and auditorium, a 60- by 210-foot tent that has its own walls, windows and a bandstand.
Johnson, who stole the concept from an event he attended in Richmond, says the idea here is to relieve the restaurants a little and to cut down on traffic, giving spectators a place to go when their team's not playing.
Closed-circuit television broadcasts of the games inside will be featured, as will refreshments, a Virginia lottery booth and live music spanning country to soul. Hours are noon to 12:30 a.m. Thursday, 5 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Friday and 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday.
Who can go to the free event? Anybody with a game ticket.
Who can go into the downtown restaurants and bars where fans are stationed? Anybody who's brave enough.
\ FOR YOUR AVERAGE ROANOKER and non-Metro follower:
What's in it for the rest of us?
We posed the question to Johnson, who told us about Friday's L'eggs Sheer Energy Metro Conference Cheer and Dance Team Championship, the only event of the weekend that's free and open to the public.
Located in the civic center auditorium from 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, the event will feature cheerleading and dance routines by each of the eight schools' troupes.
And aside from that?
It depends on your weekend demeanor. Downtown Roanoke will not be for the meek at heart. Nor will any of the peripheral hotels, most of which are extending their lounge hours in anticipation of party-till-you-drop crowds.
But for those who like the feel of a bustling city, this may be just what you've been waiting for: traffic jams, elbow-to-elbow happy hours and lines to get into restaurants.
METRO BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Thursday through Saturday, Roanoke Civic Center coliseum. Ticket book for all seven games, $87; for quarterfinal and semifinal sessions, $24 (two games); for championship game $15. 981-1201.
by CNB