Valley opens new gym and is set to host the 6th & 7th Regional Tournaments

[JokersWild24]

Didn't know that this was going on, but thought it was interesting. Here's a link to the story (and video) from today's Courier Journal.

 

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120709/SPORTS05/307090100/1031/sports/Valley-High-School-s-new-venue-gym-dandy?odyssey=mod|newswell|img|Sports|p

[gold sunrise]

Wow , I didn't know this either. It will hold, 3,194-seats. Thanks for sharing!!!

[JokersWild24]

Yesterday was the first I'd heard of it as well. This has been a well kept secret I guess.

 

The AD interviewed in the video seems confident that 3,200 seats will be able to adequately seat regional tournament games, and you would think that their estimate would be around expected capacity for top games considering their intentions when the gym was built. I'll admit that I was somewhat surprised to hear that it was such a low number though. I would have thought that a game like Ballard-Eastern, Trinity-St. X, etc. would have a draw of around 4,000, especially if it were a regional final or semi. I would guess that Trinity-St. X could draw that number (their football game is often played in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium), but otherwise, is attendance in the Louisville area down so much that 3,000 is a comfortable number for seating on a yearly basis?

[Getslow]

^ This wasn't a secret. I remember hearing about the move during the Seventh Region tournament at Bellarmine this year.

 

As for the size of the gym... finding something of useful size is a problem. There are a couple of very large arenas -- the Crum Center and Freedom Hall -- but they're way too big for this sort of event. None of the high schools in Louisville have very big gyms. Don't know why that is, but they just don't. The Louisville Gardens isn't a terrible spot, but nobody takes care of it and at the moment it looks close to falling apart.

[JokersWild24]

^ This wasn't a secret. I remember hearing about the move during the Seventh Region tournament at Bellarmine this year.

 

As for the size of the gym... finding something of useful size is a problem. There are a couple of very large arenas -- the Crum Center and Freedom Hall -- but they're way too big for this sort of event. None of the high schools in Louisville have very big gyms. Don't know why that is, but they just don't. The Louisville Gardens isn't a terrible spot, but nobody takes care of it and at the moment it looks close to falling apart.

 

Just a figure of speech on the secret part. Thanks for the info on the gyms and crowds. I've never got to witness a game in the Gardens (saw a Sweet 16 game at Freedom Hall when I was around 5 or so), so it sounds like I may miss out on one of KY's gems.

 

Out of curiosity, would a different venue be considered for an epic regional final like a Trinity-Ballard or PRP-Butler (mentioned in the CJ article)? If so, where? I'm not really familiar with many of the venues in Louisville, but I'd imagine the YUM! Center would be out of the question.

[MBKT]

Just a figure of speech on the secret part. Thanks for the info on the gyms and crowds. I've never got to witness a game in the Gardens (saw a Sweet 16 game at Freedom Hall when I was around 5 or so), so it sounds like I may miss out on one of KY's gems.

 

Out of curiosity, would a different venue be considered for an epic regional final like a Trinity-Ballard or PRP-Butler (mentioned in the CJ article)? If so, where? I'm not really familiar with many of the venues in Louisville, but I'd imagine the YUM! Center would be out of the question.

 

I remember a Trinity-Ballard region final game a few years ago in Louisville Gardens that was sold at with 6,500 fans (over 500 folks turned away at the door).

 

For most games, the seating will be fine. For LIT finals or Region finals that include Trinity-Ballard, Trinity-St X, PRP-Ballard, etc.,. I don't think they will have enough seats. I wonder why did they not place seats in one or both of the end zones?

[Getslow]

I'm just curious as to why they thought it was a good idea to move the tournament to the most distant corner of Jefferson County that's nowhere near any of the schools in the Seventh Region.

[faxisfax]

I'm just curious as to why they thought it was a good idea to move the tournament to the most distant corner of Jefferson County that's nowhere near any of the schools in the Seventh Region.

 

Does not make much sense to me either.Close to 25 miles from Eastern and double digits to all other 7th region teams.

Male High School campus is centrally located and would have been a much better choice!

[rockmom]

Let's try to look at this from a different perspective. There are "haves" and "have nots" when it comes to facilities within JCPS. I like that this facility was built at Valley. The fact that it's 25 miles from Eastern is irrelevant, IMO. It is large enough to accommodate the tourney, and should be used rather than a facility more convenient, but which accommodates fewer. In the end, we'll drive whatever distance is necessary to support our teams, especially in tournament play. If not, others will take our places. Schools in the west, south and southwest areas have become the "stepchildren" when it comes to just about every area of improvement, while a select few have been given "feature" roles.

[Getslow]

Let's try to look at this from a different perspective. There are "haves" and "have nots" when it comes to facilities within JCPS. I like that this facility was built at Valley. The fact that it's 25 miles from Eastern is irrelevant, IMO. It is large enough to accommodate the tourney, and should be used rather than a facility more convenient, but which accommodates fewer. In the end, we'll drive whatever distance is necessary to support our teams, especially in tournament play. If not, others will take our places. Schools in the west, south and southwest areas have become the "stepchildren" when it comes to just about every area of improvement, while a select few have been given "feature" roles.

 

But all the schools in the Southwest of the county are in the sixth region. I think it's great that the sixth region tournament is there as well. Why can't they hold the 6th and 7th in different places which are actually in each region?

[rockmom]

 

But all the schools in the Southwest of the county are in the sixth region. I think it's great that the sixth region tournament is there as well. Why can't they hold the 6th and 7th in different places which are actually in each region?

 

That is a fair argument. But are there any facilities large enough?

[Getslow]

That is a fair argument. But are there any facilities large enough?

 

I don't know. But the fact that they've been holding it at Bellarmine -- which only holds 2,400 -- for several years now would seem to suggest that there probably aren't.

[tcjkbt]

What about Broadbent?

[Harry Doyle]

This is awesome. Great for Valley. As Larry said, there are the haves and have nots in Jefferson County and many are left in the dust, yet people cant figure out as to why their academic and athletic programs are below average? They want the teachers, coaches and students to take pride in their programs when the people at the very top in the district couldnt care less about them. This is a big step in the right direction for Valley and hopefully for several other schools in Jefferson County that could use a big dose of 'pick me up'.

 

At one time, Valley used to be the biggest school in the state of Kentucky with well over 2,000 kids. The school itself is one that I love; it just has that traditional look.

[Getslow]

What about Broadbent?

 

If I'm not mistaken, like Freedom Hall before it, it was originally built for horse events and livestock expos but unlike Freedom Hall, was never renovated for another primary purpose; it's still mainly for those shows. I haven't been in years but I remember going to many Louisville RiverFrogs games when the East Coast Hockey League was here and the seats were really far off the ice. I'd imagine the sight lines for basketball would be pretty bad.

 

That said, from a size perspective, it's the real option between the big arenas and the high schools, seating around 6,500.

 

In the end, I really wish the Louisville Gardens would get a floor-to-ceiling complete renovation and have them move downtown again... but that building got wrapped up in all this ridiculous Cordish Company development downtown so I'm not holding my breath that anything will ever happen.