Four Cities Are Invited to Present Bids to Be Host of SEC Basketball Tournaments

Four cities have been chosen as finalists to be host of the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament in 1990, 1991 and 1992, SEC Commissioner Harvey Schiller said.

The four have been invited to make formal presentations to an SEC site selection committee, which last week considered bids from nine cities in the Southeast. The 1989 tournament will be held in Knoxville, Tenn.

The four finalists are Orlando, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Lexington, Ky.; and Birmingham, Ala.

“We had outstanding bids from all nine cities,” Schiller said. “In narrowing the list we considered several factors, such as hotel rooms, financial considerations and when they last hosted a tournament.”

In addition to the four finalists, other cities making bids included Atlanta; Knoxville, Tenn.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and Baton Rouge, La.

Schiller said the committee will have several decisions to make when it meets to hear the formal presentations.

“One of the first things we need to decide is what mix we want to go with in terms of campus sites versus off-campus sites,” he said. “Among our finalists, there are two campus sites and two off-campus.”

Schiller said the committee feels that some of the most successful tournaments have been those held on-campus.

“At the same time, we feel that we need to move the tournament around to create interest in the various regions of our conference,” he said.

Schiller said the exact date and site of the committee’s meeting to hear the formal presentations will be announced soon.