NLR's objective: Woo SEC return

Wesley Holmes emerged from a floor-level tunnel earlier this week at Verizon Arena and was greeted by numerous reminders of what will happen over the next five days in North Little Rock.

"It certainly is blue," Holmes joked while checking out a new court, banners and carpeting that have changed the look of Verizon Arena in preparation for the SEC women's basketball tournament that starts tonight.

Workers have been busy since Sunday assembling a new floor that features a bold blue and yellow SEC logo in the middle of it. There is a large SEC logo hanging from the bottom of the main scoreboard, banners with each team's logo line the arena walls and others cover the front facade of the arena's upper deck.

All are good signs as far as arena officials and members of the Little Rock Convention and Visitor's Bureau are concerned, because they have worked for the past six years to get one of their most successful events to return to the arena.

When No. 12 seed Florida tips off against No. 13 seed Auburn at 6 p.m. tonight, it will mark the fourth time since 2003 the SEC Tournament has been played in North Little Rock, but the first time since 2009.

Three coaches who were a part of the tournament in 2003 raved about the attention and atmosphere at that tournament, which set an overall attendance record (43,642) for the tournament at the time and still ranks third on the all-time list.

Georgia Coach Andy Landers, whose 10th-seeded Bulldogs play Missouri on Thursday, remembers that tournament as a "terrific experience" despite his team's first-round loss that year.

"It seemed the people who were there had a great deal of enthusiasm for the tournament being there and seemed to enjoy it," Landers said.

Texas A&M Coach Gary Blair, who was in his last season as Arkansas' coach in 2003, remembers stumping for the tournament throughout the season. He went on radio shows to promote the event and remembers talking with corporate businesses across the state.

It worked. The 2003 tournament has become a standard by which other SEC women's tournaments, including this year's, are gauged.

Holmes said as of Monday afternoon this year's tournament had sold 5,000 books of tickets, which includes tickets to each of the seven sessions.

"That's good," Holmes said. "It's not 2003 good, but it's good."

Nobody is expecting this week's attendance figures to match those from 2003, but the hope is to redirect a downward trend and establish North Little Rock as an attractive spot for future tournaments. Attendance dipped to 37,033 in 2006 and to 20,397 in 2003, which at the time was the lowest since 1992.

Holmes said the economy had to do with the low figure, and the hope this week is to at least beat that total.

"This year we're tracking probably a little bit better than 2009," Holmes said.

No extravagant bid was made to get the tournament back, Holmes said. Instead, the SEC called him to gauge interest. Local officials had plenty, and they don't want to wait another six years for a similar call.

Vanderbilt Coach Melanie Balcomb, while admittedly biased, said it's become agreed between coaches that Nashville, Tenn., is a preferred site considering the renovated Bridgestone Arena and its proximity to a lively downtown area. But with the men's tournament in Nashville in nine of the next 11 years, the women's tournament needs someplace to go.

"One of the things that we're trying to do is establish somewhere where we can go consistently for more than one year and try to build that somewhere else," Balcomb said.

Verizon Arena officials hope that can be here.

"We've told them to come every year," Holmes said.

The tournament is in Jacksonville, Fla., next year and will make its sixth trip to Nashville in 2018. For North Little Rock to get in 2017 or later, it will likely need a good showing this week.

The Razorbacks drew the No. 9 seed and will play Ole Miss at noon Thursday. If Arkansas wins, it will play at noon Friday. That could hurt attendance, but Holmes pointed out that Arkansas received byes to the quarterfinals during the past three SEC tournaments held at the arena, so an extra game could help balance out the less than favorable tipoff times for the Razorbacks.

Another concern is the weather.

Forecasts call for temperatures to drop all day today, with temperatures in central Arkansas getting below freezing by mid-afternoon. Rain is likely this afternoon, with a chance of sleet mixed in. A mix of snow and sleet is expected overnight, and some icing is possible. Forecasts predict 1 to 3 inches of snow and ice overnight.

Still, there is another issue that seems to concern Holmes even more.

Pat Summitt, the legendary Tennessee coach who retired in 2012, won't be coaching the Lady Vols this time. Tennessee fans built a reputation as dedicated followers of Summit known for travelling and supporting their Lady Vols regardless of where the tournament was played.

Holmes wonders if the absences of Summitt on the sideline will make a difference. Neither of the two tournaments since Summitt's retirement -- both held in Duluth, Ga. -- are among the top 10 in overall attendance.

"The question is: Were they traveling because of the team, or were they traveling because of Pat Summit?" Holmes said. "That's the unknown."

No matter what coaches will be barking from the sideline this week, Blair said he hopes this tournament won't be the last in North Little Rock, and he believes fans can send an authoritative message to make a case for bringing it back.

"I just want them to embrace basketball," Blair said. "Don't just support Arkansas, but support women's basketball in general. You've got a lot of very good teams -- you've got five in the top 25 -- so come on out and embrace what we have here to offer, and that's quality women's basketball."

Sports on 03/04/2015