MEAC to hold tournament without fans

NORFOLK — Tickets to the MEAC basketball tournament will be especially scarce this year.

Like many other conferences around the country, the Norfolkbased league isn’t selling any.

Attendance at the tournament, the finish of which will be held March 11-13 at Scope, will be limited to guests of players and coaches as a precaution against the COVID19 pandemic, the MEAC announced Tuesday. No tickets will be available to the general public.

Other events related to the tournament, including an annual youth basketball clinic, will not be held. The league’s Hall of Fame ceremony will be conducted virtually.

The atmosphere at Scope, where the concourse is converted each year into an indoor flea market buzzing with people, will be different, MEAC commissioner Dennis Thomas said. But the product on the court won’t as players perform in a silence that has become normal.

“They’re used to that kind of environment,” Thomas said.

“The basketball is not going to be diminished.”

The Scope portion of the tournament will follow firstround games at on-campus sites on March 7.

Fans can still watch. Firstround through semifinal games will be streamed live on FloHoops.com, and Saturday’s championship games will be shown live on ESPN platforms.

The men’s title game will be on ESPN2 at 1 p.m., and the women’s championship game will be shown live on ESPN3 and rebroadcast on ESPNU on March 14 at 8 a.m.

The MEAC and VisitNorfolk have partnered to hold a watch party on March 13 at Town Point Park. The event is limited to 250 people, and tickets are available at showclix.com.

The changes, though unwelcome, were necessary, Thomas said.

“You can’t be an aircraft carrier with this pandemic, this virus,” he said. “You’ve got to be a speedboat. You’ve got to be able to pivot on a moment’s notice. And that’s what we’ve been able to do since April of last year.”