Schools set to vote Nov. 10 to decide if 13th Region tournaments will be held at Arena

The General Manager of Corbin’s 5,000-seat exposition center said Monday that a vote on whether or not 13th Region boys and girls high school basketball teams will play their regional tournament at the facility in the future will be made this November.

Cliff Clinger, General Manager of the The Arena at the David L. Williams Southeast Kentucky Agriculture and Exposition Center, said he met with the "policy board" for the region’s high schools a few weeks ago to answer questions about the proposal to host the tournament at the facility.

"From what I understand, on or around Nov. 10, they are supposed to call for a vote from the high school principals and then we will have a decision at that time," Clinger said. "I feel good about it, but it has taken a long time to get to this point. I’ve been working on it for over a year now. I think it will be a great opportunity for this to be hosted at our venue."

The 13th Region is comprised of all high schools in the Districts 49 through 52, which encompasses Jackson, Clay, Laurel, Whitley, Knox, Bell and Harlan Counties.

An informal poll of schools by the News Journal shows support for the idea is lukewarm. The tournament is set to be hosted by North Laurel High School this year and will be at Whitley County High School next year unless the proposal is approved.
Officials have said having the tournament at the arena, as opposed to individual high schools, has many upsides – better parking, increased seating capacity and more seats, improved concession facilities and bathrooms, excellent court and locker facilities for teams, etc.

Quietly, schools in the region have objected to the proposal for various reasons. In Harlan County, for instance, a new consolidated county school was constructed with a gym large enough to handle the tournament, but would never be used for that purpose if it were held at The Arena.

"A lot of the schools are for it and there are a couple of schools that are against it," Clinger said. "It seems like we are fighting against tradition and politics. I think it is exactly the same thing Pikeville went through when they did this for the 15th Region because it’s new and different and people aren’t sure how it’s going to work, so there is some hesitation, but I think there are a lot of plusses as well."

"We are just hoping it all comes together and they actually see the vision and the potential of what this can do to help the 13th Region grow."