Up For Bid

In 17 years there have been four sites for the State Basketball Finals, and each site offered something special and unique that made it the perfect location for that time. It all started at Little Rock's Barton Coliseum in 1993 when an estimated 17,000 fans watched the two-day event. This was the first year to eliminate the boys and girls Overall Tournament in favor of an all-finals format. Barton Coliseum was not the birthplace of high school basketball in Arkansas, but its rich tradition from the 1960s and 1970s could not be equaled. Barton Coliseum was a great starting point, but it was best suited for rodeos rather than basketball. Pine Bluff was enjoying tremendous success each December with Travis Creed's King Cotton Invitational Tournament. The Convention Center offered a modern playing facility, adequate banquet style rooms and a hotel on the property. It was a one stop shop. The finals moved to Pine Bluff in 1995 and produced a two-day crowd of 33,859. Pine Bluff hosted this event for nine years, and the best two-day attendance was 45,764 in 1998. North Little Rock joined the bidding war with Alltel Arena and won the three-year rights for 2004, 2005 and 2006. In its first year, Alltel had 68,102 fans watch the two-day event, which included a single game record crowd of 14,601 to watch North Little Rock take on West Memphis. At its peak, Pine Bluff averaged 45,233 fans per year. The central location definitely helped North Little Rock's efforts to bring in fans, and it produced a three-year average 59,189 fans. In 2007 the format changed from a 10-game, two day session to a 14- game, three-day session. The site also changed to Summit Arena at the Hot Springs Convention Center. There were early critics of the Summit Arena and with just cause. Summit Arena would be the smallest arena to host the State Finals. In three years 175,168 fans watched 42 state championship games, which averaged out to be 58,389 fans per year. For the second time in Finals history this year's total surpassed 60,000 with 64,194 fans in attendance. An average of 4,750 fans watched each championship game. Barton Coliseum: an honored place of tradition when all state championships were played on its court. Pine Bluff Convention Center: It's close to being the near-perfect arena. Alltel Arena: This facility is capable of handling a crowd of 8,000 plus and is centrally located. Summit Arena: Two hotels on site, adequate off-arena space and a town that's family friendly. In June the Board of Directors of the AAA will decide on the future home (more than likely a three-year period) of the State Basketball Finals. The winners will be the die-hard fans of Arkansas. - - -  For more information on Arkansas Activities Association news visit www.ahsaa.org.