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In an effort to downplay the significance of geography, Fort Wayne officials put on the full-court press Friday to persuade the IHSAA to bring the 2010 girls basketball state finals to the city.
IHSAA commissioner Blake Ress and assistant commissioner Theresia Wynns were in town to take a tour of Memorial Coliseum, Spiece Fieldhouse and the Holiday Inn at IPFW and to listen to what was being offered from members of a community group.
“Certainly I think all the groups have gone all out, and I have been impressed with what they have offered and what they have said,” Ress said at the Holiday Inn. “In all honesty, it makes our decision tougher.
“We knew they were going to try to make a good proposal, and I told them from the onset that my biggest concern was, geographically, Fort Wayne is not in the center of the state. They have done all they can to counter that.”
Members of the Fort Wayne/Allen County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Fort Wayne Sports Corp., Memorial Coliseum and the mayor’s office showed off the recently renovated arena and unveiled proposals for playing host for the state championships in the four classes March 6, 2010.
“We gave it our best,” Coliseum General Manager Randy Brown said. “The one thing I can promise you is we won’t be looking over our shoulder thinking, ‘If we had done one more thing.’ I feel good about where we are.
“Our challenge is just showing that geographical distance isn’t an impediment to the tournament. I don’t think there is any other community who can put together a package like we have here.”
One addition to the state finals presented to the IHSAA was having a fanfest the day before at Spiece Fieldhouse, sponsored by Vera Bradley. The free event would include gifts and basketball memorabilia.
The IHSAA is looking for another venue for next year’s state finals because all the venues in Indianapolis are unavailable. Other sites being considered are Bloomington, Muncie and West Lafayette.
“We might have a larger attendance than they have had in the past because it is located in the north part of the state,” said CVB President Dan O’Connell, who added that 75 percent of the teams in the last decade of the state finals are from northern schools.
“We have found over the years when you get out of Indianapolis, the people are there for that event and not sidetracked going to do something else. That adds value to it. Our goal was to persuade them, but to also make this decision difficult for them, and that’s what we have done.”
Ress said a decision for the 2010 site will be made by the end of June.
