The whispers have been getting louder.
Of course, the Super Six football championships have long left Charleston. Mountain East Conference officials expressed discouragement with the city after last season's hoops tournament. And now the word behind the scenes is Morgantown, flush with a new stadium, will ask for a bidding process for the high school baseball tournament, currently held in the Capital City.
There are, however, two crown jewels Charleston still seems to have a lock on: the girls and boys state basketball tournaments.
The girls event, as you may know, is ongoing through the weekend. The boys event will be in the Civic Center next week.
No, the stands haven't been filled for the girls games. That's to be expected, especially during the days. There aren't any stars in this go-around. Also, through the first session of Thursday's games, the shooting percentage of all teams was a discouraging 34.3 percent. Not the 3-point shooting - which was at 25.9 percent - but the overall shooting. The average score through nine games: 56-40.
Yet, hey, it's a time for fun, right? It's a time to gather. It's an experience for the participants to remember for a lifetime.
And this week's tournament is also an experience for one particular gentleman.
On Thursday, one could look in the stands and see Gov. Jim Justice. There was WVU women's basketball coach Mike Carey, whose team just won a Big 12 tournament championship. Also, right beside him, was Mountaineer football defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.
But this tournament is most special to Secondary School Activities Commission executive director Bernie Dolan. It's his first go-around as the man in charge. At least, that is, in a relaxed state.
"Pretty much," he said on Thursday. "Gary [Ray] retired at the end of January last year so I got in but my feet were pretty wet. This is my first time going all the way through, doing all the planning. It's a big undertaking. These two weeks - along with swimming - are pretty busy."
Making Dolan's chore a bit tougher is the disarray that is the Civic Center's refurbishing.
"It's been a little bit tough because everything is different," he said. "There are different openings. They had the grand opening for the main entrance. I think people will appreciate coming over from the mall without having to go all the way around.
"There will still be people who will come over the old way for a while, but it's going to be a beautiful place when it's done."
He also mentioned parking issues. The former lot for SSAC officials, team and media is out of commission.
But now that Dolan is firmly in charge, the questions were put to him: What would you like to do with the tournaments? What stamp would you like to put on them?
"After every tournament we sit down and talk both with the hosts as well as our office and try to evaluate," he said. "We try to see what we can do better. We'll have a coaches committee that meets later. We'll take information and ideas from them to see what we can do.
"Right off the bat? I don't see a lot [to improve upon]. I think certainly improving the technology and access for the people as well as the media [is a goal]. Social media is an important part of games now, so it's important for us and the fans to be able to access that."
Ever wonder, though, the status of the SSAC's basketball contract with Charleston?
"There is no contract," Dolan said, "because no one has ever requested [placing a bid]. Basically, Marshall and WVU are the only places with facilities that could hold this."
So Charleston is safe in regard to basketball - for now. As the city has learned, it's never smart to assume. It's never smart to fail to roll out the red carpet.
We'll see about the baseball tournament. It's safe at Appalachian Power Park this spring, but the city will probably have to bid on the event against Morgantown for the next four years.
While the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau gets on that, though, get out to the Civic Center. Enjoy the games. And prepare for next week.
"We finish up the boys regionals [Thursday night] with single-A," Dolan said. "We're really excited. This [girls] tournament brings a lot of parity. And I think we'll see a lot of great battles next week too."
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.