By MAKENNA WILLIAMS
Sports Editor
The City of Albany has welcomed multiple NCAA women’s basketball teams to the Capital Region to play at MVP arena in downtown Albany. Back in April 2023, it was announced that Albany would host the Women’s March Madness Elite Eight. Last year the MVP Arena general manager, Bob Belber, said in an interview with the Daily Gazette, “I don’t think there is a better time than now. The amount of visibility that NCAA women’s basketball received this year was by far the greatest ever. I think more people watched the games that were broadcasted and, more importantly, more people watched the news and the matchups and the individual players that were so outstanding.” This brought a lot of hope and excitement to the Capital Region while expecting large crowds from all over the United States.
Less than a year later, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said in an interview with News Channel 13 “It’s really an opportunity for us to showcase what an amazing place the city of Albany is and the entire Capital Region is. The more successful we get at putting on these types of events, the more we think we will be able to attract these types of events year after year.”
With many people believing this would be a great thing for the city of Albany along with surrounding businesses, The LSU coach Kim Mulkey questioned the equitability of the Albany hotels in a press conference from Mar. 29.
In the press conference, Mulkey stated “Eight teams have to be accommodated for in Albany. When you bring in eight teams, do you have eight hotels that are all of equal value, that are all the same? Probably not. I don’t know how many cities do. That’s a concern.”
Shortly after Jill Delaney, the executive director of Discover Albany which helped the NCAA with hotels and team placements quickly shot this down, stating “I have no idea what they’re referring to, they’re in the same hotels other than a couple that had to go outside Albany County the last time, only because we didn’t have enough rooms in Albany County because it happened to fall on St. Patrick’s Day last year.”
Mulkey is not the only person who has said something about the Albany area. ESPN women’s basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo and play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco, broadcasted a story about a conversation with basketball star Caitlin Clark’s family. According to Ruocco “She (Clark) told us, ‘They’ve been reaching out to me, and I’ve told them: Just go find something to do in Albany; I’m staying in my room and just waiting for the game.” Lobo, who spent her college career playing at UConn along with being an WNBA star, chuckled as she followed with: “And, by the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany.”
Mayor Kathy Sheehan took to twitter regarding the statements made about the city and repost a clip of the broadcasters story at the end of the game with the caption “There’s plenty to do if you take the time to look — some of the nation’s oldest museums, a stately Capitol, award-winning restaurants, and a basketball game or two downtown. @RebeccaLobo, let’s take a ride before you leave town. Happy to show you all there is to see and do.” As of midnight April 2, Lobo has yet to respond to the mayor’s comments.
Even with a handful of negative comments South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley had many positive comments to say about Albany and the region surrounding being more than accommodating to make the trip north a much more smooth process. Staley stated in a press conference,“I just want to say I thought this region did an excellent job at hosting all the teams, the hotels, the gym was very accommodating to us — I can only speak on us. So really appreciate it, and I hope if you make a bid for it again, you’ve got my vote. But again, people don’t listen to me.”
South Carolina beat Oregon State on Sunday March 31 with a final score of 70-58, allowing SC State to earn their fourth straight trip to the Final Four. The biggest game of the Elite Eight; LSU vs Iowa in a National Championship rematch took place in Albany. With a gritty back and forth battle throughout all four quarters, Caitlin Clark and her Hawkeyes defeated the LSU Tigers 94-87. Clark put on an impressive showing at MVP Arena. Clark ended the night with 41 points, 12 assists, 9 threes made, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals. These stats are numbers that no other NBA, WNBA or Division I men’s or women’s player in the last 25 years has reached in any single game.
Out in Portland Oregon, UConn defeated USC 80-73, pushing them to the Final Four as well. The teams have now officially concluded their Elite Eight run; NC State will face South Carolina while Iowa faces UConn in the Final Four.
