The Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic runs Friday, November 20 and Sunday, November 22, 2026, at TD Arena. Six programs play six standalone games. Friday tips at 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday tips at 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday carries no basketball, and the reservation has to cover that gap.
Two tickets, bought one game at a time
Tickets are sold on a game-by-game basis. The organiser states that there is no all-event pass, and that a fan attending both days buys one Friday ticket and one Sunday ticket. A party following one team buys two tickets, one for each of that team’s games.
Children 3 and under sit on a lap without a ticket. TD Arena holds 5,100 people. The building opened in 2008 with the first Charleston Classic, and the 2026 edition is the 18th.
Why the stay is Friday and Saturday nights
The last Friday game tips at 5:30 p.m. The first Sunday game tips at 1 p.m. A guest who books the Friday night alone gives the room up on Saturday morning with a Sunday session still to attend.
Two nights, Friday the 20th and Saturday the 21st, put the party in town for the Sunday session. A Sunday checkout hands the room back before the 1 p.m. tip.
The final game starts at 6 p.m. on Sunday. A party staying for it adds the night of Sunday the 22nd or drives home after the last horn. Settle that question before the room is booked.
Doors open an hour before each session
The event FAQ says doors typically open one hour before each session, and that exact times will be posted closer to the event. Against the published tip times, the 12:30 p.m. opener points at an 11:30 a.m. door, and the 6 p.m. Sunday game points at a 5 p.m. door.
Build the Friday morning from that hour. Treat it as a planning figure until the organiser posts its own door times.
No reserved lot, so the garage is the decision
All parking for the Classic is public. The organiser states that there are no reserved lots or garages. The City of Charleston owns a number of garages, most charging $2 an hour or a flat $5 to $7 when the car enters in the late afternoon or evening.
The three closest garages to TD Arena are Marion Square/Francis Marion, Saint Phillip and George Street. Majestic and the Visitor’s Center carry the discounted evening rate. The organiser publishes a parking map with real-time availability, and city metered spaces sit across downtown.
The 6 p.m. Sunday tip falls inside the evening window. Read the rate board at the entrance before the car goes in.
Where to stay, by address
TD Arena sits at 301 Meeting Street, one block from Marion Square and King Street. Each address below is the property’s own, and each distance is the road distance from the arena to that address.
Belmond Charleston Place, 205 Meeting Street, 0.39 miles. The Dewberry, 334 Meeting Street, 0.59 miles. Francis Marion Hotel, 387 King Street, 0.56 miles. Hotel Bennett, 404 King Street, 0.65 miles. The Ansonborough, 21 Hasell Street, 0.70 miles.
A room on that list puts the arena inside a walk, and the car stays parked for the day.
The same weekend, a second crowd
Garden & Gun runs its Winter Market at 21 Magazine from Thursday, November 19 to Sunday, November 22. Market hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The market and the tournament share the Friday-to-Sunday window and draw on the same downtown rooms.
Reserve the two nights before tournament week.
Rooms for a traveling party
hotelHuddle states that most hotels quote group rates from 10 rooms a night, and some from five. A request goes to 50 or more Charleston hotels, costs nothing to submit, and returns offers at the hotel’s own rate. The platform quotes responses inside 24 to 72 hours.
Name the nights inside the request: check-in Friday the 20th, check-out Sunday the 22nd. Add the Sunday night there if the 6 p.m. game is on the plan.
The tax line
South Carolina charges a 5 percent sales tax and a 2 percent accommodations tax on a room rental, and local governments may add up to 3 percent more. Ask for the tax-inclusive total across both nights before comparing any two offers.
The order to do it in
Buy the Friday ticket for the game you want. Buy the Sunday ticket for the game you want. Book Friday and Saturday nights inside a walk of 301 Meeting Street. Settle the Sunday night question before the room is booked. Enter a city garage and read the rate board.
The ticket page carries the per-game purchase links. The bracket page carries the six matchups.