ONLY ONLINE: 13th Region Basketball tournaments will return to The Arena next year

After a one-year hiatus, the 13th Region Basketball tournaments will return to The Arena in Corbin.

Arena Manager Connie Hunt announced Tuesday that an agreement has been reached with 2014 host Jackson County High School to hold the boys and girls tournaments at the facility.

Hunt said she is thankful to see the event return to The Arena, noting the additional seating and amenities and central location benefits the respective schools while the influx of teams and fans, benefits the city. While not as large as Rupp Arena or E.A. Diddle Arena which hosts the girl’s state tournament, playing at The Arena gives the players the opportunity to experience a game in that type of atmoshphere atmosphere, she added.

It was previously noted that each 13th Regional schools received $1,500 from the tournament, even if their respective team did not make the field. Participant schools get a percentage of profits based on the number of games played in the tournament.

The tournaments had been held at The Arena for three consecutive years in (2010-12) following an overwhelming 13-4 vote by the athletic directors at the member schools.

It was initially billed as a four-year deal. However, Kentucky High School Athletic Association Director Julian Tackett contends it was a year-to-year deal.

With that in mind, Tackett approved allowing Harlan County High School to host this year’s tournament at its new gymnasium.
In explaining his decision, Tackett noted that Harlan County High School’s gymnasium has many of the features The Arena offers – ample parking, comfortable seating, etc. He said in the school’s gym, there would be no need for "split sessions," a move often reviled and spurned by fans. With split sessions, the gym is usually cleared after each game to make room for more fans.

Hunt said in addition to hurting the Arena by electing to move the event, the timing of the decision made it even worse as it left an open date on the facility’s calendar.

“That’s the busy time when arenas have stuff going on,” Hunt said, noting she could have booked a lucrative show for The

Arena if she had known the tournament was moving.

“We can’t get yanked back and forth and lose out on events,” Hunt said.

Corbin will host the tournament in 2015 followed by Knox Central in 2016 and Harlan Independent in 2017.