District, regional finals may go to bigger sites
High school basketball fans in central Ohio clamoring for an ideal site to hold district and regional championship games might soon get their wish.
“There’s a lot of excitement on the horizon,” said Scott Reeves, the Central District Athletic Board representative for the Ohio High School Athletic Association. “We just have to wait and let the process take care of itself.”
At least this year, the respective Divisions III and I boys district finals will take place Friday and Saturday at Ohio Dominican. Alumni Hall, which seats 2,000, also will host the Division I boys regional on three nights next week.
A transition to any of several larger facilities will begin next year when Battelle Grand at the Greater Columbus Convention Center (capacity 6,500) will serve as a bridge in hosting the big-school district finals.
“Ever since (the CDAB) severed ties with the Fairgrounds people a few years back because of scheduling conflicts and rising costs, we’ve been searching for a site to hold our championship games,” Reeves said. “Ohio Dominican, quite frankly, has been a great partner for us, but the issue is that the facility is not quite large enough to accommodate the level of interest for our Division I boys games.
“We just don’t have that Mid-American Conference or midsized arena like most of the other areas in Ohio. We’ve been scrambling for solutions the past few years.”
Reeves added that area high school and small-college arenas provide adequate sites for boys and girls, with the exception of Division I boys.
A series of tumbling dominoes should provide answers soon.
Ohio State is completing work on the Covelli Center — a 3,700-seat arena to accommodate men’s and women’s volleyball, wrestling, gymnastics and fencing teams — that is slated to open in the fall. That, in theory, might open up availability for St. John Arena. Also, Crawford Hoying — a company headed by former Ohio State quarterback Bob Hoying — is seeking state funding for a 4,000-seat basketball/volleyball arena in Dublin it hopes to begin building in 2019.
Battelle Grand is a one-year stopgap. The site will be out of play after 2019 because of conflicts with the Arnold Sports Festival.
“Obviously, St. John Arena would be an incredible site, even if only to use for one day, but Ohio State is still trying to figure out what to do with the facility after teams move over to the Covelli Center,” Reeves said.
“There are a lot of bigger facilities in play for us starting in 2020, and the possibilities are endless in terms of holding multi-game packages — like we did at the Fairgrounds — or also having regional games.”
The 2019 regional sites statewide have not been solidified by the OHSAA. Director of Sport Management Jerry Snodgrass indicated that Battelle Grand is a possibility for the Division I boys regional.
“It is in play, but I have not made any decisions yet at this point,” Snodgrass said. “Not to neglect it, but since representation changes every year and there is a big discussion going on about tournament structure, it’s a little too early to lock that in. There are some cost analyses on that and other sites to consider yet.”