Steve Berkowitz

USA TODAY Sports

The NCAA may face financial consequences for its decision Monday to relocate seven championship events from the state of North Carolina, according to a review of contract documents and interviews with local officials.

On Monday, the NCAA Board of Governors — a group of college and university CEO’s that oversees policy matters across all three of the association’s competitive divisions — voted to take the action as a result of the state's controversial House Bill 2. The law prevents cities and counties from passing protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. And public schools must require bathrooms or locker rooms be designated for use only by people based on their biological sex.

The NCAA has championships scheduled for North Carolina beyond 2016-17 but has only taken action for this school year.

Among the events affected are first- and second-round games of the Division I men’s basketball tournament, which had been set for Greensboro Coliseum on March 17 and 19.

The lease and bid-specification contracts covering those events do not appear to allow the NCAA to terminate the arrangement for the reason it announced. USA TODAY Sports obtained the documents from the Greensboro Coliseum Complex under an open-records request.

NCAA to move 7 championships from North Carolina due to HB2 law

Both agreements were signed by representatives of the Coliseum Complex and the Atlantic Coast Conference, the events’ nominal host, In August 2014 — well before House Bill 2 came along.

The bid specification document states that in deciding where to award the games, the NCAA will consider factors including a site’s “ability to promote an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person.”

But the termination provisions of the venue lease agreement state that the agreement can be terminated by the NCAA without liability to the NCAA only if one of three conditions are left unaddressed after the NCAA provides notice and a 30-day period to remedy the issue. The conditions include the venue’s failure to “retain its status in the industry as a top-tier facility … through a deterioration of physical structure” and “material breach by any one of the entities that made representations relied upon by the NCAA in awarding” the events.

In 2014, the Coliseum Complex and the ACC could make the necessary representations.

ACC needs to align with NCAA on North Carolina HB2 or explain why not

The lease agreement does not allow for legal remedies through the courts. It requires any disputes that the parties cannot resolve between themselves to be addressed through mediation and, if necessary, arbitration.

Scott Johnson, the Coliseum Complex’s deputy director, said that members of the coliseum staff are scheduled to have a conference call with NCAA on Wednesday to discuss a variety of matters, including how to work with people who already have purchased tickets and with area hotels that have been holding the rooms host sites are required to provide.

Johnson said he did want to get into legal matters, but he noted that it is “very unlikely” the coliseum will be able to get a multi-day event booked to cover the five days it was contractually required to set aside for the NCAA’s use. He said officials are trying, but only be able to secure a one-night concert or two.

North Carolina governor criticizes NCAA over decision to relocate events

According to the contract, the NCAA pays a rental fee that’s based on a percentage of the gross ticket revenue, but that fee basically covers the venue’s required expenses, Johnson said — perhaps with money left over if those expenses are managed well. Johnson said “the opportunity for upside is concessions and parking” and that early round NCAA tournament games the facility has hosted in the past have been “revenue positive” for the facility.

Johnson said that because “we want to host this event again in the future, we want to be as cooperative with (NCAA officials) as possible. … We want to see through this transition. But for now we are where we are. We need to move forward and deal with it.”

NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn referred comment back to the association’s statement Monday in which Georgia Tech president G.P. “Bud” Peterson, who chairs the board of governors said: “As representatives of all three divisions, the Board of Governors must advance college sports through policies that resolve core issues affecting student-athletes and administrators. This decision is consistent with the NCAA's long-standing core values of inclusion, student-athlete well-being and creating a culture of fairness.”

In addition to the men's basketball tournament in Greesnboro, the NCAA's decision affects four championships that had been set for the Town of Cary, including Division I women's soccer and women's lacrosse.

Town spokeswoman Susan Moran said a combined total of 5,300 hotel nights had been reserved for these events.

"We have a great relationship with the NCAA," she said. "We feel caught in the middle. We've bid on future tournaments, and we want to keep that in mind. It doesn't mean we won't be looking at our contracts to see if something needs to be done. But those conversations haven't been had yet."