The Mountain East Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments aren't going anywhere. The 2018 edition will be where the area's small-college hoops tournaments have been for decades - the Charleston Civic Center.
But a few words of advice: Don't look at this as crossing the finish line.
There's really no opening to do that, considering the deal runs only through the 2017-18 season. After that, the site goes back up for bid, because the MEC's preferred dates for the 2019 tournament are the same dates as the already-scheduled girls basketball state tournament. So there already is a reason that could force the conference to look elsewhere for a site.
If Charleston wants to remain the home of the MEC tournament for the seasons following this next one, it has to make this coming year count.
Make no mistake, when Huntington threw its hat in the ring for the MEC tournament, it wasn't just for show. Huntington's bid was a strong one, but this just wasn't the year for the tournaments to pick up stakes and move 45 minutes west.
This wasn't the year. Yet that's not to say next year or the year after that won't be. Dynamics change. So do the names of the decision-makers. If Charleston wants those decision-makers to keep making the same decision - to keep the MEC in the state's capital - the city can't afford to do the same-old, same-old.
To Charleston's credit, the city made plenty of strides this past year in enhancing the tournament experience. Team hosts were appointed to address any visiting team's needs. Moves were made to defray costs. Local restaurants joined the movement and provided meeting places for semifinal and championship game qualifiers and their fans. Charleston used many of those strategies in its bid to keep the state prep baseball tournament, and West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission head Bernie Dolan said that was what sealed the deal to keep that tournament at Appalachian Power Park.
Yet, as much as Charleston did to enhance the experience around the Civic Center, issues remained inside its doors. And those issues need addressed if Charleston wants to maintain its grip on the MEC's marquee event.
No more MEC banners being hung around the arena minutes before competition begins. No more wireless networks being cobbled together at the last minute. Rod Blackstone, the senior assistant to Charleston Mayor Danny Jones, has said a number of times that the problems both visible and behind the scenes will be addressed.
Hopefully, the city can do that. The MEC is one of the premier NCAA Division II basketball conferences in the country. In 2016, three men's teams - West Liberty, Fairmont State and Wheeling Jesuit - entered the tournament ranked in the nation's top five. Fairmont State made it to last season's national title game. That high of a concentration of high-quality Division II basketball doesn't come around every day.
It's sticking around Charleston for now, and it's up to Charleston to make sure it comes back in the future.