Red,

I would be the last person to want to wrestle at KU. I don't even like driving thru the dang town, but unfortunately that is the quickest way to get back to Manhappiness!

Was actually just looking at the website for the Sedgwick County Arena and it looks like a fantastic facility! It would be ideal for the combined 6A-5A-4A tournament. If everyone can be patient a few years while the finish it, it would be a great set up for the State tournament.

It's tough to see the bickering and finger pointing on this board between the classes. The bottom line is this. The Wichita facility is very expensive to rent, and without the revenue from the 4A fans, the tournament went into the hole in a huge way. If you will remember, the new facility downtown had not yet been discussed as an option when this potential problem surfaced. At least, thats how I remember it from 5 or 6 years ago. The Coliseum was to be renovated, it was not going to be available for a few years, and the 4A reps went out and got the BiCentennial Center as a two or three year fix until the Coliseum was available again or the new arena downtown was built. At NO time was it meant to be a final soultion. During this time the new arena was proposed, and because of that the Coliseum renovation was delayed until the cost of the new arena was determined. There are only so many tax dollars to go around, after all. SO.....there was no great conspiracy to totally alienate Kansas wrestlers from the rest of the wrestling world, there was NO effort from KSHSAA to reduce the amount of exosure of Kansas wrestlers to colleges, and there was NO conspiracy from the 4A coaches to break free from the deep confines of the darkest corners of the Wichita Coliseum. That is simply how things evolved. I agree that it is unfortunate that the 5 and 6 A tournament will be held at a high school or single tournament facility. It will reduce the atmosphere to that of a large tournament. BUT, it will still be the state tournament, and if you can't get up and motivated for that, you probably should not be wasting your time wrestling because some kid will be hungry and wanting a title....and he won't care if it's wrestled in a barn out in a pasture in western Kansas!

You know the whole thing with Kansas and their wrestling venues is a real disappointment. I grew up in Missouri and did not go through this as a kid. Now we live in Kansas and we all have to put up with the facilities issue, especially for youth wrestling here in District 1. I understand there are no level 1 arenas in the state that are available, and K-State and KU cannot rent theirs, but to hold a highschool state meet in a highschool gym is a real letdown and an embarassment. My inlaws live in Iowa and my parents live in Missouri. Look at the way they run their HS state tournaments over there, then compare to KS. This tournament should be the highlight of a young man or woman's highschool career, not some backwater filler event. Whoever decided this should be brought to task. If we want our kids to wrestle on a national stage and the event to mean something, it should never be in a HS gym. We have kids vying for scholarship money and this is not the way to help them. It is clear, the tournament should be divided- using Wichita, Hays, Salina or Topeka arenas as a venue. We can bemoan the crappy state facilities all we want but to bring out of state guests to a HS state tournament being held in a HS gym would make us the laughinstock of the midwest and will be a step in the wrong direction, just showcasing our inability to keep up with our neighbors. This needs to be redone.

GT ,
I totally agree w/ you....I grew up in Iowa, we would get out of school and bused to Des Moines for the State Tourny ( this was 18 yrs ago )...it was and still is a very big deal in Iowa to the wrestlers, families, cheerleaders, towns, etc....when I told my son this, he could not believe it....

Then when we lived in Lincoln, NE for 4 yrs...the State Tourny was at the Bob Devany Sports Center ( Uni of NEB ) every year...huge deal..the last year we lived there, was a battle between Omaha and Lincoln to host the State Wrestling Tourny...Omaha won

what I'm trying to get at...is like what GT said...it is a huge accomplishment and a great experiance to make it to State ...

...but this news is disappointing....

Steph-Maybe some don't realize but the Iowa State High School wrestling tournament is one of, if the premier high school events in any sport, in the country. 3 or 4 days in the largest coliseum in the state, used to be Vets Auditorium, but now the new building next door. All day long for 3 or 4 days, all classes together, it is something every wrestling fan should go to once in their life. All from this state which has almost the same population as Kansas. I know we have poor facilities and cannot have all the classes together, but to deny these kids the chance to wrestle in a forum like an auditorium is sad. This is one of the ways we can improve and promote the sport in Kansas. This is my son's third year this year, and I could not believe three years ago the level of wrestling in this state, it was that good. We had (have) kids go all over the country and compete with the best at all the levels and do very well, and we need to promote and support that. Having the state tournament in a HS gym is a slap in the face and a step backward. It is saying we are mediocre and don't care.

All of those states just discussed have very successful D1 wrestling programs that will bend over backwards to help promote their high school kids. What we hear in Kansas is that those "basketball" arenas are not available during the time frames needed. Does anyone else see that correlation? Until we get rolling with a D1 program, we will always be second class to the "punkin pounders". I honestly believe that Texas will have a D1 program before Kansas. A lot of those Texas kids are getting tough!

Shelstin, I don't see the correlation between D1 in other states and KS 5A and 6A having to wrestle their state tournament in a HS gym. MO, IA and NE all have their state tournaments in gyms that the state universities do not wrestle in.

Tom,
He's talking about taking the sport more seriously. States that have DI wrestling have a higher level of cooperation from business entities in the state. The success of MU has enhanced the overall respect that wrestling receives in Missouri.

Eric- That part I get. But Wichita St, K-State or KU having wrestling won't necessarily make someone in Kansas build an arena large enought to hold these functions in. Let's face it, Kansas is not a "destination" type state-people don't come here to view sporting events or entertainment, except maybe college sports. The issue of D1 sports is way more complicated and expensive than most posters on this site seem to understand. For example, Mizzou was #1 in NCAA polls for much of the year and their highest duel competition attendance was less than 3,000, and that was virtually free to get in. Yet the MO state high school tournaments draw many thousands, just like KS does. We need to support these venues and get these in decent arenas. These events are what make the sport great- these are what kids dream about and hold with them for a lifetime. Read, if you haven't yet, the Sports Illustrated article about Iowa wrestling, it was one of the best I have ever seen. A great quote, or paraphrase by me, from that article by Tom Brands, talking about his high school days on a bus ride home from Vets Arena-State Tournament- "No matter what you do the rest of your life, you will always be a state champion...." Do you guys see kids thinking that when they ride home from Olathe Northwest, or do you see 10 year olds sitting in the stands at Olathe Northwest dreaming of wrestling there someday? I don't.

Unfortunately most of the ten year olds will be sitting in the bleachers of another high school waiting to wrestle their own match. This because some parent or coach thinks missing that one week will retard their kids wrestling future.

Yes! I too wish it could be in a larger arena, but a state champ will still be a state champ!

KSHSAA NEWS RELEASE - DISASTER RELIEF FOR KANSAS

Will 6A state at Olathe Northwest High School have a worse atmosphere than what was had at Wichita? YES, and it won't even be close. Wichita still had that big arena feel to it. From driving up to the building, the capacity, seating etc. From top to bottom it is not even close! This decision is an embarrassment and deserves to be overturned. We should all do everything we can to fix this. To have a High School career end at a High School gym in 2008 makes the stomach sink in every kid, when told what he has to look forward to. Is there anyone who thinks this is OK?

I agree that having 6a at ONW is very disappointing. Sunflower League was held at ONW in 2006 and although it is a very nice high school gym, it is still just a gym. It was crowded with only the 12 schools from League. I can't imagine the crowds from all 32 6a schools fitting into that space. Will they exceed the occupancy limits and be forced to close the doors to some spectators? That happened at District 1 Kids in 2006. The Fire Marshall shut down entry to the facility at Mid-American Nazarene University until people exited. Parents missed seeing their own kids wrestle and some had traveled a far distance only to be locked out of the building.

In addition, the atmosphere is underwhelming. A State Championship should be a destination, a place where you don't wrestle everyday duals or tournaments. Is there any hope for a change?

For 20+ years we have had the tournament in Wichita. That is the only place we can have at least 8 mats on the floor. When the coaches from 4a lobbied for their own tournament and they pulled out the income to support the Wichita arena was cut by 33%, however the expenses was approx. the same. The state had no option but to go back to high schools. If one wants to blame someone, the schools need only to look in the mirror. If you want it back together start to lobby to have it in the new arena in Wichita in a couple of years but that needs to happen now. Go to a three day tournament, all schools leave at noon anyway start the tournament at 6 pm Thursday night and we can get all classes together. Talk to the state, call your AD's and your league reps. send letters to KSHSAA, they will listen, they did it when 4A wanted their own tournament.......

fyi ... Ft. Hays State had 8 mats on the floor for Southern Plains!

And how much seating capacity?

In 1980 Ft. Hayes State hosted the NAIA Nationals with 6 mats on the floor. However they removed all seating on the floor till the second day. It was also a 3 day tournament. A high school state championship would require 6-7 thousand seats and more if it had all classes. Goodland held the state tournament in the early 70's but only used 3 mats. Guys look at these three requirements, 8-9 mats, 6-7000 seats, motels for out of town schools. Then consider location not for the East or the West but for everyone. I do think inviting the Kids programs to get in free or maybe they could be the towel tappers, runners, mat cleaning etc. This would draw the parents of those kids to the tournament. Line up a kids dual between sessions perhaps. If they only had 4,5,6A why don't they simacast the other tournament on a large monitor so both arena's could view the other matches. If you want it combined come up with a proposal and talk to Rick. You better be looking at the Wichita Facility Downtown for 2009 and do it now......

I think your estimate for the number of seats required is a bit short. I don't know what the Coliseum holds with the ice rink in place but the last several years when all three classes were there for the finals, it was at capacity. I'm guessing 10k would not be too much for future requirements. I do agree, the time to be making contracts with Sedgwick County for the new arena, is now. That will give all parties plenty of opportunity to address and settle old grievances.