Organizers in Akron are working on two possible large-scale watch parties for Sunday’s NBA Finals game between the Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, the biggest game of hometown hero LeBron James’ career.
But neither is certain.
Plans only started coming together Friday afternoon after the Beacon Journal reported that Akron — James’ birthplace, where he returned to raise his children, and the city whose name he tattooed across his shoulder — was being dissed.
The Cavs’ official Game 7 watch parties at Quicken Loans Arena and Gateway Plaza in Cleveland sold out within minutes Friday, with scalpers reselling some of the $5 tickets on eBay for hundreds of dollars.
The team’s website offered an alternative way to celebrate: 51 other official parties at bars and restaurants “throughout Northeast Ohio.” Yet all but two of the parties are in Cuyahoga County — and the two that aren’t are in Columbus.
None of that helps fans who want to watch LeBron in the 330.
St. Vincent-St. Mary High School — LeBron’s alma mater a couple of blocks west of downtown Akron — is hosting a watch party for the school’s students, families, alumni and friends.
But the LeBron James Arena there holds only 1,831.
That’s not nearly enough to hold LeBron’s Akron fan base. In 2014, when he left the Miami Heat to return home to Akron and the Cavaliers, an estimated 30,000 fans welcomed him at the University of Akron’s InfoCision Stadium.
By Friday evening, no other public watch parties were scheduled for Akronites.
Come Sunday, nearly every bar in and around Akron likely will be packed. Even the Mustard Seed at Highland Square, a grocery store with its own cafe, is having a shindig.
But if you hoped Akron would get a giant party to witness what LeBron came home to do in sports — win an NBA championship — you may be out of luck.
If you’re just another kid from Akron, you might have to make your own party.
Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com. George M. Thomas and Katie Byard contributed to this story.