The Lahaina Civic Center remains standing in the wake of one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S. history last week.
But it was still unknown and undecided Thursday if it can and will host the Maui Invitational in November, and one of the best fields in the 40-year history of the elite presseason college basketball tournament is in limbo.
“At this point, people must keep in mind the games are irrelevant,” Chaminade sports media relations director Kevin Hashiro said Thursday. “The priority remains helping the people of Maui.”
Chaminade is the host school of the event that Chicago-based KemperLesnik owns, operates, promotes and markets. The tournament was conceived because of the Silverswords’ monumental upset of Virgnia in 1982.
Hashiro said KemperLesnik might provide a statement today, but said “most likely not” when asked if it would include a decision on if the tournament will be played at Lahaina.
“The statement will probably be that the games are of no concern at this time and a decision will be made later,” he said. “When that is, I’m not certain.”
Even if the 2,400-seat facility is fit for basketball many logistical questions are unanswerable now, three months before the Nov. 20-22 tournament.
“We have no way of knowing now what occupancy, room availability will be like,” Hashiro said, noting that hotel rooms are being used as emergency shelters for some of the thousands of Maui residents who lost their homes in the fire.
Around 4,000 visitors, including the teams, staff, media and fans come to Maui annually for the tournament.
The tournament issued this statement last week:
“We are actively monitoring the wildfire situation on Maui. Our main concern right now is the safety and well being of our Maui ‘Ohana and the first responders that we know are doing everything in their power to keep the island safe. We will share more information as it becomes available.”
Chaminade, Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee and UCLA are scheduled to play in this year’s event.
“The 2023 field very well may be the best one, at least on paper, that we’ve ever had,” tournament chairman Dave Odom said in April, 2022, when the 2023 field was announced. “We could not be more excited to return to our home at the Lahaina Civic Center and show these teams the magic of Maui.”
The tournament could be moved to another venue. There is precedent.
Last year was the first time the event was played at Lahaina since 2019. Because of COVID-19 concerns, the 2020 tournament was played in Asheville, N.C., and in Las Vegas in 2021.
Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena — where Chaminade beat Virginia and hosted tournaments in the 1980s — could be an option, but it is undergoing renovations not scheduled to be completed until Nov. 30, according to the Blaisdell’s website.
Since 2018, Chaminade has played in the Maui Invitational’s championship bracket in odd-numbered years and instead played games on the continental U.S. in even-numbered years.
“We’re committed to playing in this particular year wherever Kemper decides we will go,” Hashiro said.
In other Maui-related sports:
>> Maui Interscholastic League: The MIL canceled its preseason football games. The league’s athletic directors met at least twice this week, but it was not clear late Thursday how the regular season will be affected.
>> Paddling: The Molokai-to-Oahu canoe races scheduled for Sept. 24 (women) and Oct. 8 (men) are canceled.
>> PGA: The Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua, scheduled for the first week of January, has stated concern for the people of Maui.
“We’re working closely with them to understand their most pressing needs,” Sentry, a mutual insurance company based in Stevens Point, Wisc., said in response to a media query.
Sentry is supporting fundraising by the Maui United Way.
Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa, whose grandparents are from Maui, announced on social media he will donate $1,000 per birdie he makes during the PGA playoffs to relief efforts.
“I might be shedding some tears (when he plays at Kapalua in January),” Morikawa said Tuesday on the Golf Channel. “It’s only a few months away.”
Xander Schauffele (who lived on Kauai as a child) and Michelle Wie West both also made sizable donations specifically for Maui.
