http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2010/feb/09/wrestling-tournament-eyes-st-joseph/Wrestling tournament eyes St. Joseph
.By Kristin Hoppa
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
St. Joseph may be ready to wrestle, literally. The Toshiba Midwest Wrestling Classic, which has been held in Kansas City for the past four years, is looking to make St. Joseph a possible new location of the annual event.
“We have college coaches from all over the nation come up and recruit,” said Ron DiBlasi, president of the Kansas City Wrestling Association. “It would be great to get the tournament on an actual college campus and get the kids to a college atmosphere.”
More than 1,500 people from all over the country would come to St. Joseph to participate and watch the tournament, according to Mr. DiBlasi.
The tournament would host 32 teams, with about 14 students per team, plus coaches and trainers that travel with the team.
Currently, the tournament is hosted at the KCI Expo Center. Barring scheduling conflicts, Mr. DiBlasi hopes Missouri Western State University would be able to hold the event on Dec. 17 and 18.
“The expo center has been a great place to have the event,” Mr. DiBlasi said. “We looked all over for arenas large enough to host the event, but putting it in a college atmosphere would be great.”
However, the athletic department at Missouri Western has flagged one major problem: Scheduling the tournament in December comes during graduation preparation and basketball games.
“It is my understanding that (the wrestling association) wants to use the Looney complex,” said Dave Williams, director of athletics. “If we can get the scheduling worked out, we would love to host the event.
“We have to work within our university’s mission. Events that come to St. Joe bring a great economic impact, but we have to remember, our top priority is our students.”
Bringing the classic to the university would bring economic benefits to the St. Joseph area, according to Lindsay Bernard, sales manager of the St. Joseph Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“There would be a lot of people up to St. Joe to watch and wrestle,” Ms. Bernard said. “There would be a great increase in the economic impact for St. Joe.”
Ms. Bernard estimated that just the teams could bring in about $371,000 in housing, food and shopping revenue alone. “We are working with hotels around the county to make sure we have enough room,” she added.
There are about 1,200 hotel rooms in Buchanan County. The wrestling association is planning a few site visits, and a decision on the location may be made next month.
