City of Richmond Announces Two-Year Extension with CAA

~CAA Men's Basketball Championship to remain at Richmond Coliseum through 2014~

The city of Richmond and the Colonial Athletic Association announced today a two-year extension of their agreement to conduct the CAA Men's Basketball Championship at the Richmond Coliseum through 2014.

"We are pleased that the CAA has agreed to extend our relationship at this time," said Mayor Dwight C. Jones. "This is a longstanding and very important partnership for the city of Richmond as well as the Richmond region and we are working to ensure that we will continue to have a relationship well into the future."

Last year, Mayor Jones set in motion a plan to address both short and long-term issues related to improving the Coliseum. Investments have been made to improve the current facility for the short-term, and for the long-term, community partners and business leaders are involved in a review to determine the best future approach for the Coliseum structure.

“Richmond has served as the host of the CAA Men’s Basketball Championship since 1990 and our current contract covers the 2011 and 2012 tournaments,” CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said. “The City of Richmond is in the process of studying the long-term future of the Richmond Coliseum and, in the spirit of partnership that we have developed with the City of the past 21 years, signing this extension provides both sides with time to chart a course for the future. We are also satisfied with the City’s commitment to enhance some of the amenities in and around the Coliseum during the on-going decision-making process.”

An economic impact study conducted during last year's tournament determined that the combined economic impact and economic significance of the conference on the Richmond Region is $5.8 million during the four days of the event. The long-term future of the Richmond Coliseum is under review with corporate partners including Dominion Resources, Genworth Financial, MeadWestvaco and Altria.

# # #