If You Build It They Will Come. Lahaina Civic Center: Home to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational
"Each day I walk through this hot, dusty gymnasium. Sometimes older children are playing basketball, and other times it is empty and dark. But if I close my eyes, I can see the Duke Blue Devils at center court holding the Wayne Duke championship trophy; or the sea of red which is the Indiana Hoosier boosters in the bleachers; or the Kansas Jayhawk delighting the crowd with his antics on the sidelines. Is this really the same place?
"As the County of Maui's Supervisor for Parks and Recreation, I have the task of transforming a recreational gym by the Pacific Ocean into the mecca of college basketball for three days each November. It begins with a walk-through of the facility with my staff. Pages of notes will form our own game-plan of cleaning, painting and repairs to the facility. We begin in the team locker rooms, which are at the end of the gym on the second floor. A screen needs repair where the teams waiting to play the next game look down on the gym floor at the game in progress. This quaintness of the Lahaina Civic Center is its charm.
"A notation is made to apply a clear sealer coat to the gym floor, a floor which has seen the play of many future NBA players as well as the pacing of many of college basketball's most revered coaches… Smith, Krzyzewski, Keady, Boeheim, Self, Williams. Slowly but surely the transformation takes place. Then the red light on the ESPN television camera goes on and the world once again is focused on the bright lights and shiny floor of the Lahaina Civic Center gymnasium to watch many of the best college basketball players in America.
"Just a recreational gym, perhaps. But for three days in November… it is my field of dreams."
Those words written years ago by longtime County of Maui Parks and Recreation employee Jeff Anderson about the famed Lahaina Civic Center ring true today.
Its 2,400 seats make it one of the most intimate environments for fans, coaches and players. Only 15 rows separate the ‘nosebleeds’ from the hardwood – there truly is not a bad seat in the house. The compact environment, combined with the fast pace of the nation’s best athletes, makes the Lahaina Civic Center one of the most unique venues in all of sports.
Through the years, upgrades to the bleachers, scoreboards, lighting, and the addition of permanent air conditioning in 2003, have enhanced the experience for teams and fans alike. And since hosting its first Maui Jim Maui Invitational in 1987, the Lahaina Civic Center hardwood has showcased many of the game’s legendary coaches, such as Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Lute Olson and Dean Smith, as well as All-American players, like Danny Manning, Glen Rice, Grant Hill, Adam Morrison and Kemba Walker.
The charm of the Lahaina Civic Center has been and will remain an integral part of the mystique that is the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. It is distinctly Maui, and represents the proud tradition and exciting future of this premier early-season college basketball tournament.
