Schools agree to host 13th Region basketball tournaments at Corbin Arena

It took representatives from the 13th Region schools three attempts to come to a decision Tuesday, but in the end, the third time turned out to be the charm in regards to moving the 13th Region Tournament to The Arena.

Thanks to a two-thirds majority vote on attempt number two (14 yes to three no), those in attendance decided that at least for this basketball season, the boys and girls 13th Region basketball tournament will be held at The Arena in Corbin with North

Laurel High School being deemed as the host school.

At least one representative in attendance was pleased that some type of decision was made on the matter.

"We are just glad this is all behind us and now we can start planning this tournament," North Laurel High School Athletic Director Jimmy Durham said. "I think the infrastructure is there and with their people to work with, we have the ability to co-manage this tournament to make it the best one that’s ever happened in this region.

"I know some people think you may lose the flare of the home gym, but I think The Arena has a lot to offer as a fun, fan friendly environment," he added. "You’ll have no split sessions, no waiting outside, no hot stuffy gyms, basically all the negatives from the past will be eliminated.

What was initially expected to be a short meeting turned into an hour-long debate on the pros and cons of each side. The first time the proposal was voted on, the vote totaled 11-6 in favor, which was the majority, but not enough to change the policy.
After the first vote, a proposal presented by Harlan County High School Principal Mike Howard was discussed at length before also being shot down with an overwhelming 13-4 decision.

Howard’s proposal allowed the school scheduled to host the tournament for that year the option of hosting the tournament or moving it to The Arena. The catch was that since The Arena was not getting a guarantee of the four-year plan, it could not offer the same package offered in proposal one.

The second option to vote on moving to The Arena came when Barbourville High School Principal Paul Middleton made a motion to vote again and was seconded by Jackson County.

This time, the vote swayed to the two-thirds majority when Williamsburg and Red Bird changed its votes from no to yes.
After the meeting, Williamsburg Athletic Director Gary Peters explained the change of heart.

"The main reason was when The Arena said that if we went with the other proposal, they were not guaranteeing the money anymore to the non-participating schools," he said. "Obviously, fairness is a key component, so looking at Williamsburg, the goal was to be in the rotation and be able to host every 17 years and also be guaranteed $1,500 in the years you don’t qualify for the region. Once we were clear on that, I was comfortable with a yes vote."

Howard, along with Clay County Principal Mike Wyatt, argued that their proposal wasn’t much different than the first one since schools are going to be given the option to change the policy on a year-to-year basis.

Financially speaking though, the two are much different, with Howard’s proposal providing schools that are not in the tournament an approximate 1 percent share, which according to discussions Tuesday, would amount to around $500 per school. The Arena’s proposal guarantees $50,000 to the 13th Region. Among that amount, $1,500 would go to each of the 17 schools ($25,000), whether they compete in the tournament or not. As for the remainder of the guaranteed money, it would be split among the teams participating in the tournament based on the percentage of tickets sold (boys and girls games combined). The split between participating teams will also be based on shares by the number of games played.

The decision is essentially in place for the next four years, however, according to KHSAA guidelines, the school scheduled to host the tournament could call a meeting to allow a vote on whether or not to move the tournament for that particular year back to their school only. In order to move the tournament though, it would also require a two-thirds vote by those in attendance.

In the end, KHSAA Assistant Commissioner Julian Tackett, who was in attendance Tuesday, said he felt like the move was a positive one.

"There are quite a few of the regions that have gone to this type of thing because it keeps a little balance," Tackett said. "One thing it does is it gets the coaches to a comfort level and they don’t feel like there is an advantage or a disadvantage.

"The negative is that you are losing some tradition, but that’s progress," he added. "What you have is a combination of the fact players get to play in the atmosphere of a big venue, but they don’t always feel like it’s a road game."

Tickets for the tournament will cost $9 per night, with reserved seating available, while an all-session ticket will be set at $45. Student tickets will cost $5 for their team’s participating night only. Tickets are not on sale yet and will be announced at a later date.