Wheeling Scores Big as Regional Host for The Basketball Tournament

Photos by Eric Ayres

WHEELING -- Officials in the city of Wheeling look forward to making their shot in the national spotlight count this summer when WesBanco Arena serves as a regional host site for The Basketball Tournament.

Bringing an array of college alumni players back to the court, The Basketball Tournament -- or TBT -- has grown into a wildly popular summer event with its high-profile players on teams that are all vying for a $1 million winner-take-all prize.

Eight teams will compete in the West Virginia Regionals over the course of five days in late July at WesBanco Arena on specific dates to be announced one month from now. Best Virginia -- the West Virginia University alumni team -- will serve as the regional host for the single-elimination event, with the regional champion advancing to the quarterfinals.

"We're very excited as a venue to bring this premiere event to Wheeling," said Kelly Tucker, executive director for the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority. "This tournament just continues to create the great momentum of amazing events happening in downtown Wheeling. Everyone needs to stay tuned -- on April 1, we will announce the dates, and tickets will go on sale.

"I know our community will welcome the TBT and their fans to our amazing city."

City officials gathered at WesBanco Arena Tuesday to announce the hosting gig for the tournament, which in the past has been broadcast live on the ESPN family of networks.

"It's a big deal," Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott said. "Each year that tournament has been in existence, it grows in popularity, it garners national TV exposure and really has become an event unto itself. It's such an honor to even be in the conversation of cities that can host a regional tournament like this, so we're thrilled."

Elliott said landing an event like the TBT does not just happen overnight. The GWSEA board -- which he now chairs -- has worked to make a myriad of improvements to WesBanco Arena over the past decade to help make it an attractive venue for hosting national-level events.

"We've made investments to keep this facility state-of-the-art so we could compete for something like this," Elliott said.

"There has been significant investments to the facility over the past 10 years, from the video board to seats, locker room improvements, basketball court, the sound system - all that has gone into making this a first-class facility that can host events like this," said Wheeling City Manager Bob Herron. "We don't know the eight teams that are going to be in it yet, but based on history, the crowds are going to be outstanding. It's going to bring people to the arena in the middle of the summer, which is normally a downtime for this facility."

Herron noted that the WVU and Marshall alumni games have traditionally drawn huge crowds in the past.

"What makes this tournament really special, I think, is that there's a West Virginia component to it," Elliott said. "Best Virginia is one of the 64 teams that's going to be vying for that $1 million take-all prize, and general manager (and player) John Flowers and assistant GM Greg Richardson are here. This is a team of former West Virginia stars keeping the tradition of basketball excellence going forward here, and they're going to have a chance to play in front of a home crowd that's hopefully very tilted in their favor."

The West Virginia Regionals for the TBT have been played in Charleston over the past two years, but this year Wheeling made the lineup of host cities and will get its shot at hosting the event for its first time this summer. The Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center has a weeklong event booked in late July, the International Table Tennis Federation Pan American Youth Championships, from July 23-30.

"Based on what we've heard from Charleston, an event like this can bring $10 million to $15 million of economic activity into the city," the mayor said. "It brings a lot of people and gets a lot of exposure. It's a great opportunity for us to really showcase our city and all of the investments we've made into this facility. We want to do our best to put on a good face so that this tournament stays here for a long time into the future, when all of the construction is done and everything is up and running smoothly."

Best Virginia began competing in TBT in 2019 and had its most successful run in the tournament to date last summer, winning the West Virginia Regional for the first time. Flowers said the alumni team has come a long way since they first took to the court.

"All this started with an alumni game about eight or nine years ago," Flowers said. "We just had an idea with a couple of other guys -- Da'Sean Butler, Kevin Jones and some other guys in Morgantown who've just grown to love West Virginia as a whole. We just wanted to have an alumni game one time -- to do something for the fans and to raise some money for various charities. It started with that, but grew into something much bigger."

Flowers said he was proud that his band of brothers in Best Virginia now truly helps bring attention to the Mountain State.

"A lot of people don't know about West Virginia," Flowers said. "I came here as a freshman in 2007, and I've never left. That's because I love it here. I love being here, I love the people here. To be able to come here, be on ESPN, get on that national stage, bring awareness to the state of West Virginia, show what we're about and bring that economic impact to Wheeling -- it's going to be amazing."

Flowers said this year's team is still coming together, and an announcement on the final roster is expected soon. There are a lot of guys playing hoops overseas at a very high level, and Flowers said putting together a core group of talented alumni truly helps Best Virginia boast a competitive edge.

"Fans are going to be able to see some of the Final Four players -- myself, Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks played last year." he said. "We're trying to get some other players back.

"I'm glad that it started off with a small number of alumni and it grew into this, and it's something that I'm able to be proud of and say that I gave back to West Virginia, because West Virginia has given me so much.

I'm looking forward to it - I know it's going to be a great turnout."

Since TBT began in 2014, it has awarded more than $12 million in prize money and has been viewed in more than 180 countries around the world. Alumni teams have won TBT's championship the past four summers, with teams representing Ohio State, Marquette, Syracuse and the University of Buffalo taking home the $1 million prize between 2019-22.

The TBT is also the home of the Elam Ending, the alternate ending to games where teams play to a target score. The Elam Ending was adopted by the NBA for its All-Star Game beginning in 2022, and is now being used in G League games as part of their overtime format.

For more information on TBT, the West Virginia Regional and Best Virginia, visit TheTournament.com.