The dunk tank operated by the local building trades during the annual Undo’s Italian Festival has sat for years near the front of Wesbanco Arena, and a very popular purse vendor always has been right across 14th Street.
But not this year and that’s because The Basketball Tournament – featuring the Best Virginia team – has been scheduled at Wesbanco Arena for the same week the city’s “granddaddy of them all” Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Festival usually takes over the Heritage Port area. The TBT will present four games on Tuesday, July 25, two on Thursday, July 27, and one game on Saturday and Sunday.
The Italian Fest is set to kick off Friday the 28 at noon at the Hamm Flagpole at Heritage Port.
“I am confident we can do both at the same time, but it will take everyone working together,” said Kelly Tucker, executive director of the arena and of the Capitol Theatre. “One thing is for sure is that we will have people wishing to come to the arena for The Basketball Tournament, and we’ll have people coming to Water Street for the Italian Festival. I’ve had some great conversations with the Italian Festival committee and they are ready to work together is make it all work.
“I know it’s not ideal. I know it would be great if The Basketball Tournament was the week before, but The Basketball Tournament is coming on the last weekend of July, it’s exciting, and it’s great for the city,” she said. “I believe it’s going to be great for the Italian Festival, too.”
The dates were determined, in fact, not by her or even by the officials of the TBT.
“The main reason why The Basketball Tournament is coming on that last weekend in July is because that’s when it would be best for the people at ESPN,” Tucker explained. “That’s the way these things work when national television is involved with an event at our venues. So people have asked me why I chose that weekend, and I’ve had to explain everything to them, too, so we can all be on the same page.
“The TV crews will load in on Monday and that will be a smooth process no matter how much equipment they bring because access won’t be a problem, and because we’ve all done this before,” she said. “It’s all going to be very exciting, though, because Wheeling, W.Va. will be on national television and that’s always a very cool thing for all of us.”
Crossing Paths
All hotel rooms in Wheeling are, according to Tucker, already reserved for that weekend thanks to both events, and tickets for the basketball games are selling swiftly.
Parking in downtown always is at a premium during the Italian Festival, and the TBT likely will depend mostly on the 850 parking spots in the Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center adjacent to the arena. The vendors who operated the concessions stands during the Nailers’ season, including Generations Pub, Vocelli’s Pizza, River City, and the venue’s beer stands, will offer food and beverage items.
If the weather cooperates, the Italian Fest annually attracts thousands of attendees each of the three days, and on Saturday evening the great entertainment and the always-impressive fireworks show has drawn as many as 8,000 spectators to Heritage Port.
The TBT?
“We’re expecting 5,000 people every evening for the games, and on Tuesday when there are four games, that corner of downtown is going to be a very, very busy place. The majority of those 5,000 people will be from out of town,” Tucker said. “The hotels are all booked, as far as I know, and the tickets are on sale now for each of the games and they are selling fast.
“I know we hear all the time that there’s not bad seat in the house, and that’s true when it comes to Wesbanco Arena, but there is a difference between courtside and up in the upper levels, so if you have a preference, I would suggest getting your tickets now,” she explained. “Tickets are as low as $10 for some of the games, but other seats are more expensive so I would take care of that as soon as you can. We’re going to have very large crowds for each game.”
The final game, Sunday at 4 p.m., is listed on thetournament.com as the “TBT Quarterfinals – WV Regional vs. SYR Regional,” and $1,000,000 is at stake. Best Virginia is the only confirmed team for the Wheeling event, and they will try to improve on last year in Charleston when Red Scare defeated the blue and gold 67-60 in Dayton.
“As soon as more information is released by the TBT, we will pass it on to the public so everyone knows which teams are involved here in Wheeling, and from what I have been told so far, there will be a very talented number of teams playing here,” Tucker said. “We’re very excited for this week because the summer months are usually the quiet months here, and because we know we’ll all work together to make it a great weekend in downtown Wheeling.”
