March is still four months away. A lot can happen in four months. The Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer could be distributed enough to bring infection rates down sufficiently to lift restrictions on resorts such as Atlantic City.
Then again, perhaps the vaccine hits a snag of some type and with winter still holding on, the number of cases statewide and nationwide could still be alarmingly high.
Either scenario could impact the future of two athletic competitions scheduled to take place in Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in March. The annual New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association individual wrestling tournament brings high school wrestler from throughout the state to the resort.
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments represent 11 schools: Monmouth, Rider and St. Peter’s universities in New Jersey; Niagara University and Siena, Iona, Manhattan, Canisius and Marist colleges in New York; and Fairfield and Quinnipiac universities in Connecticut.
In another era when the word pandemic referred to the Spanish Flu of 1917-18, these multi-day competitions could be counted on to fill up hotel rooms and generate an economic impact for restaurants, shops and maybe casinos.
But now, a cone of uncertainty plays out over what the future looks like in March. Both the wrestlers and the hoops schools plan on playing. Will the number of fans be limited? Will there be any at all? No decision has been made, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
“The NJSIAA event brings people from North and West Jersey,” said Michael Chait, president of the Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce. “It brings a ton of traffic to the area, a lot of media and a lot of good public relations.”
Jane Bokunewicz, coordinator of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality & Tourism at Stockton University said if the 2021 state individual wrestling tournament and other sports events are canceled next year, it would be a serious blow to the city. Going into 2021, businesses may see a change with respect to room nights as more families opt to commute rather than stay overnight in the city due to pandemic-related concerns.”
The 2020 abbreviated MAAC men’s and women’s tourney still managed to attract 10,089 attendees before being scuttled by the lockdowns. Those attendees generated 2,619 room nights and $3.7 million in economic impact, Bokunewicz said.
“We are committed to it this year,” said Richard J. Ensor, commissioner of the MAAC. “But it might look different.”
Ensor said the number of fans allowed at the event all depends on capacity restrictions set by state health officials. West Hall of Boardwalk Hall will be set up for teams to practice. The conference also has hotel contracts in place for this year’s tournament and each team will have its own secured floor, he said.
“Right now, you can have 250 people at a venue,” Ensor said. “We hope that would increase by March, but with (the) increase in cases, we don’t know if that will happen. It’s going to be self-contained.”
