CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – With events beginning to return as COVID-19 restrictions lift, Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin says a major sporting event will be returning to the Capital City.

The Basketball Tournament, also known as TBT, is coming back to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. The city has been selected as one of the regional hosts for TBT’s 2021 tournament. The organization says the event is a tournament for alumni and retired players, where they compete against each other for a $1 million prize.

The regional tournament will take place from July 17-24.

This announcement is the first major event announcement since the pandemic closed everything down last March. At that time, the city had already announced TBT would be coming to Charleston for what would have been last year’s tournament.

Due to the pandemic, last year’s tournament was moved to one location, Columbus, OH, and condensed to a 10-day tournament in July. WVU’s own alumni team “Best Virginia” was knocked out of the tournament without a chance to compete for the $1 million prize after a team member tested positive for COVID-19.

Both “Best Virginia” and Marshall University’s Alumni Team “Herd That” are set to play in the 2021 tournament.

Tickets for the event are already available on ticketmaster.com.