As the Mountain East Conference held its preseason men’s and women’s basketball press conference at WesBanco Arena — the home of the MEC Basketball Tournament since 2019 ­– Commissioner Reid Amos discussed why the conference decided to extend its deal with the city of Wheeling for another three years.

“(T)he outstanding support we’ve received from The Health Plan and CEO Jeff Knight and Dave Flatley who coordinates an organizing committee, the support we’ve received from the City of Wheeling and we’ve worked with the current mayor, Denny Magruder, when he ran WesBanco Arena, and now we work with Kelly (Tucker) and the Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority.

“We’ve built some roots here and we have received tremendous support from the community,” he continued, “which is crucial to have a successful event like we’ve built in the seven years, and soon to be eight, nine and 10. The support leads to our student-athletes, coaches and fans having an enjoyable experience.”

Since arriving in the Friendly City, the MEC Tournament has been a perfect fit for Wheeling — and Wheeling has been the right spot for the tournament. As shown with the Super Six football championships and other events, Wheeling officials understand that time, care and effort must go into putting on a show. The city treats organizations like the MEC as guests and partners, not as a nuisance like some other cities might.

In turn, the MEC brings top-notch college basketball action — there’s at least one nationally ranked team in each year’s tournament — to WesBanco Arena that fills the seats. (It helps that two of the stronger fan bases, West Liberty and Wheeling, are just minutes from the arena.)

Congratulations to both Wheeling and the MEC for extending their partnership. Hopefully, it will stay strong for years to come.