Hartman Area Assessments

Any comments on Hartman Arena: good, bad, too small, crowded, vacant seats (how many), concessions (variety and costs), rest rooms, views, Sounds (decibels, garbled, echo), temperature and fresh air, etc.

Could 4a be jammed in with 5 & 6A. A couple of bad comments on Salina in another topic: small attendance, announcers, trouble setting up for finals.

I thought that the 5A/6A venue was just fine. You could pretty much take in all eight mats with a very good view and it wasn't nearly as congested as a lot of places that I have been. The parking was free (they kind of made it up at the gate) and very spacious with easy access to the building. Although not a spectacular looking building from the outside, it was nice inside. I have no complaints and I thought the announcer did a good job. One more thing, they seemed to be diligent about staying on schedule throughout the tournament.

This is from another thread. If you add in 4A it might be a little different story. I am not sure that it would be big enough to host all three.

I enjoyed the venue, it was just the right size, the seating was close to the action, concessions were good, still don't like paying $5.oo for a large drink...... Facility was new and clean. Parking was good. Can't make everyone happy but, of the last 3 years I'd say I liked this overall the best.

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Good cooment on the tournament. But keeping the tournament flowing and on schedule is a responsibility of the KSHSAA manager(s)---and not Hartman's.

I wish the KSHSAA manager(s) were assigned to some other tournaments throughout the year. Thanks for your input on this though, I learned something new today.

Not sure I understand your comment about KSHSAA managers: good or bad.

Probably a lot of credit needs to go to that Wichita crew that I think has acted as hosts and support staff at Wichita area state tournaments for years. I have heard that crew is the reason KSHSAA keeps holding a state in the Wichita area.

I posted a comment on the thread on 4A about the announcing at the 5A/6A. Really good except for the mispronunciations of 2 Dragon wrestlers' names-Koehn & Haake. Granted these can be difficult names to pronounce , but it'd be nice if someone made sure the announcers (perhaps the announcers) knew the correct pronunciations. I admit this is a very minor point for what I saw as a really good tournament.

Much better experience from being @ Intrust. No nazi bag checkers. Yes they were checking bags but not all of them and not purses, or even going thru everything in your bag like at Intrust. good food variety bbq, mexican, PaPa Murphy's pizza, and then usual concession stand food. Prices where high, $3.50 bag of skittles. Parking was free. There wasn't much room on the floor so no coolers by the wrestlers area they had to keep it at one end of the floor area. They didn't seem to be as restrictive with food the teams brought in. Clean and the staff that I dealt with were all nice and helpful.
I don't think you could add 4A in the mix. It wasn't full but take in to consideration some fans didn't come out due to weather and then try to add another class it would make for a tight squeeze It would have to go 3day because there would not be room for more mats.

Overall best experience the last 4 yrs.

Ditto to the shwrestlingmom. Much better than Intrust. The security staff at Hartman did their job and actually treated people with respect. Yes food was over priced, but that is the norm with arenas. Nice fit for 5A/6A but I don't think 4A would fit. Like the idea of all 3 together. Can we stretch the building?

I preferred Intrust. Better concessions, more room, more comfortable seating. Places to eat around the arena without driving. Parking not a problem if you don't mind walking a block or two.

I don't think 4A could be crammed in...it's just too small. Not enough space for any more mats and not enough seating.

The security was decent, not wanting to go through every nook and cranny of your bag, unlike other venues.

They sold interesting bottles of water that looked like a fifth of vodka...

I thought it was a decent venue overall, much better than our last experience at state in 2008 when we were treated to a high school gym for state!

My biggest issue would not be with Hartman but tournament directors. Why did semi final matches have to go one weight class at a time? There were 2 mats left open the entire night. Makes for a long round when kids are expected to go get something to eat (that isn't concession stand food) and get to bed for another long day of wresting. And there is no way I was spending another 5 bucks for a Pepsi. Maybe it's always done like this, I just don't remember.

I thought Hartman was the best venue in the past 4 years. Great weekend of wrestling and not a bad seat in the house. Congrats to all wrestlers across the state.

Danny Scanlon

I really liked it because of the great view as well...last year it seemed if you were not in the right position you could barely see the opposite class mats...but this weekend I was able to see all mats perfectly and felt it was a great venue to do so

I agree!

I thought Hartman was great. There was plenty of room for handicaped access to view the wrestling and a family restroom for handicaped persons.

Free parking was great.

Not a lot of space for wrestlers to hang out waiting for their matches or warm up. But they all dealt with it.

Not the facilities issue but
the music is alway cheesey at the parade of champions and as they introduce the medal winners. Maybe next year the admin will put some thought into it rather than just old movie sound tracs.

I thought it was the best in the 3 years we have been...By far!

Concessions were high priced but where are they not. Not alot of room to warm up, but as stated before they dealt with it. The staff was much nicer than in previous years and the seating was very good.

Overall a very nice venue. My son's comment was he wished it was bigger, but with bigger you also get alot of the negatives.

I will say I talked to one college coach there, and he said it was a pain in the ass to get to get to several different venues to see all the kids they wanted. He came to 5a/6a. One of his other coaches went to 4a, and they did not have another coach to go to 321A so they didn't go there. Sad for the 321a kids, but that drives home what having 3 different state venues does to others trying to scout/recruit.

I did like Hartman though.

Time to get it all into one location.

Kudos to the Hartman Arena!

Great parking (no long walks to the arena; Excellent, comfortable seating (all chair-backs); Not a bad seat in the house (decent ability to observe all mats from any seat in the arena); Food probably no more or less expensive than any other venue;

For 5A & 6A, as I see it Hartman was about as good as it gets. Seating capacity was just about perfect. Large enough to accommodate the crowd, but yet, surprisingly intimate, allowing a fan to keep abreast of the activity of each mat.

The only negative that I observed was that space for allowing wrestler's awaiting their next match to warm up, were in sort of short supply.

For a first effort, I'd have to say great job, Hartman Arena

Without putting much thought into it, if the school administrators are complaining about missed school, why can't we do Fri, Sat, Sun?

I am Sure some religions would not allow a child to compete on a Sunday

My biggest issue would not be with Hartman but tournament directors. Why did semi final matches have to go one weight class at a time? There were 2 mats left open the entire night. Makes for a long round when kids are expected to go get something to eat (that isn't concession stand food) and get to bed for another long day of wresting. And there is no way I was spending another 5 bucks for a Pepsi. Maybe it's always done like this, I just don't remember.

[/quote] Ms. Henes,
I believe the reason for one weight in semis is for coaches with guys in successive weights. It allows the head coach the opportunity to be in the corner for all of his wrestlers in such a crucial moment. I understand your point about getting to food, but I personally prefer getting to watch more of the matches.

I was part of the planning committee, and I will say that I've never been around such hospitable people as the Hartman group when trying to plan an event. They wanted what was best for wrestlers first, not what would allow for maximum profit.

It strikes me that a couple of perceived benefits in having one-weight at a time in the semi-final matches are that the wrestlers get a little better opportunity to serve as the focus of fan attention during their particular match, rewarding them for their hard efforts in competing for a chance at a coveted state title; and that the fans can better direct their attention towards a particular match, instead of dividing their attention over several interesting matches.

From my own selfish perspective, I enjoyed the one-weight, at at time method - conceding that it certainly took considerably more time.

Watching the 5A and 6A State tape delay on KC METRO Sports. The few times you could see the stands if appeared that maybe 15 to 20 percent of the seats were empty. Lots of shots of the stand behind the medal podiums--lots of the same empty seats in the repeat shots. Perhaps a lot of folks were in the rest room or concession stands

"Maybe next year the admin will put some thought into it. . ."

Maybe they did, this year.

Ryan,

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. It just makes for a long night and not much sleep before an early wake up call. And I can't just leave when my kid is done, our heavyweight was in the semi's and we are part of a "team" so we stayed until the bitter end!

The only thought that took place the last three years for finals was to use the same CD or MP3. cheesy - Starwars soundtrack - NBC Olympic theme from who knows when.

Some thought would be nice to make this moment more majestic. I have sent mr Bowden suggestions but nothing ever came to them.

perhaps next year.

I actually like the one weight at a time also. It added to the importance of each match. Procedurally, I would like to see the finals start at a different weight. Almost always the heavy guys wrestle to a mostly empty arena. Also, in regard to the current match time rules, I have always thought that all the medal round matches should be 2-2-2. The 1 minute first period is not adequate for an important placing match. Are we really in that much of a hurry to go home and sit down?

We enjoyed Hartman Arena. We heard a few complaints about the pretzels being really hard but our experience with the food was pretty good. The free parking was great! I have to agree about the music for the parade and awards. I thought it sounded almost like funeral music at first. It definitely wasn't the "pump you up" kind I was expecting. I am hoping whoever chose the music will put more thought into it next year too!

what if they combined 5a and 6a and then added 4a then it would fit.

I thought the Hartman Arena worked out just fine! It made for a very great atmosphere and the tournament ran smoothly I thought. My only concern was if you were sitting down farther in the stands it was very hard to see because of a lot of wrestlers warming up and standing behind the risers watching teammates. Other than that i thought the 5a/6a tournament went off without a hitch!

Combine it into one location.

If they (the schools or KSHSAA) are worried about kids missing school another day by combining the classes - make sure they get their school work done before they leave. They will get their work done - if they don't - don't let them participate at state. Hartman was the best compared to past venues but not big enough for all 4 class finals or even multiple sessions. I would go to every session in one location.

It's not totally about missing school. First and foremost it is about the money that the extra day would cost those schools.

Cut some points from the season if that is what it takes to combine it into one central location for State (1 tournament date). Make 2 or 3 classifications instead of 4. When they are pre high school or K-8th grade one state tournament is enough - 2 or 3 State high school classes should be plenty for wrestling. If that happens - the size of the venue is reduced in order to hold a state tournament also thus saving schools money. No not as many kids will qualify for state - but that should not be the goal. I think most people are with me on this one - to improve the quality not just the quantity.