Prepping for the Tourney

WRITTEN BY CRYSTAL SANDS

When fans enter the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor to support their team in the Maine High School Basketball Tournament, they are thinking about the players, the close games, and cheering for their favorite team. But they may also be thinking about where to get food and drinks and how to find the best seat. That’s where the team at the Cross Insurance Center comes in. 

Each year, the venue hosts eight days of high school basketball as part of the tournament, and “tourney time” is a lot of work for staff. On average, about 45,000 people enter the Cross Insurance Center; making the tourney a positive experience for that many people takes a lot of work and thorough preparation. 

“We have all hands on deck for this,” said Chris McGrail, general manager at the Cross Insurance Center, emphasizing that the whole team does everything they can to make sure fans get to focus on nothing but the basketball. 

According to Grail, the Cross Insurance Center hosts 200 to 220 events per year, and while the tournament is similar to other events in many ways, there is something unique about tourney time. The preparation process is similar to other events. McGrail said they start a year in advance, learning from the previous year’s tournament and making plans based on what worked and what could be better. When people come into the building, the Cross Insurance team wants to ensure they are getting through lines quickly, have access to convenient concessions, and are comfortable in a clean building. 

The tournament is special in that it’s the largest event the venue hosts on an annual basis, and it’s one of the staff’s favorites. 

“The tournament is just about everyone’s favorite event we host,” said Brad LaBree, director of sales and marketing. “The energy is electric, and the fans come in with so much excitement. We all have so much fun.”

That fun may be an additional motivator for staff who are working hard to make sure this year’s tournament is even better than the last. The team is paying close attention to the weather and working with the city to ensure parking lots and sidewalks are clear of snow and ice. McGrail said parking areas, entrances, and signage will be the same as previous years.

One of the biggest changes fans can expect is in concessions. McGrail said the staff noticed that concessions were creating bottlenecks in the flow of traffic in past years, so a new system for concessions will be in place this year. According to McGrail, the team has earmarked spaces that don’t usually have points of sale and created a convenience-store style concession system. 

“We have created a system where people can shop for drinks and chips, pay at the exit, and get back to the game,” McGrail said. “We want to make sure fans can grab what they want and get back to the action.”

Both McGrail and LaBree agree that the goal is always to make the experience positive for everyone in attendance. Planning for this year’s tournament began after last year’s tournament, and the team is always learning. 

“Our goal is to always improve from one event to the next and make tweaks as necessary,” said LaBree. 

McGrail, LaBree, and the entire staff of the Cross Insurance Center will, indeed, be all hands on deck for tourney time. Their goal is to make sure the tournament runs as smooth as possible so fans focus on the game and enjoy an experience to remember, from the three-point shots and the great defense to those long shots at the buzzer.