The Tuesday debacle could have been helped by making the Holmes/NCC game at 8 rather than 6:30. I know you're slotted by the draw but the people in charge could have easily switched game times giving by far your largest crowd for a 1st round game 3 hours to make it to the arena after work rather than 1 hour.

When I was taking night classes at Chase, it was awful. It is a million times better than it was. When it first opened, Yo Gaba Gaba was one of the first shows. It was like a caravan of minivans just blocking everything there. I was at the light near NKU at 5:40 and got into class at 6:15. Pretty awesome.

The 6:30 starting time is problematic because of the NKU student traffic that adds to congestion. As much as I hate starting later a 7:30 start for game 1 and 9:00 start for game 2 would make getting to BOK much easier. The downside is that students are out later in the evening. Tickets should be available online and maybe lower the online charge since this a high school event. Tickets could be printed out at home or make E-tickets available as well. I agree the mobile ticket staff should be available to deal with line issues. The program could be made available online like the KHSAA is doing at Rupp this year. I hope that BOK and tournament officials make changes because it is a great place for our tournament.

My 9th Region experience wasn't so bad.. I parked down by the soccer field and walked up the hill free of charge. This saved me $4 for parking and about 30 minutes waiting to park in the garage. Luckily (not knowing where I was supposed to enter) found the back entrance ticket office and there was only about a 10 person line. This also saves me 15-20 minutes from standing in line at the front entrance.

 

The bad: 8 dollars a person for the Holmes-NCC & Cooper-St. Henry didn't seem bad at first until I went to the 11th region Semi Finals for just 6 dollars and free parking. I know NKU is a newer facility and in much better condition than EKU's arena but the quality of basketball in the 9th is no comparison to the 11th this year. My money was much better spent at EKU.

 

The Consession prices were ridiculous at the 9th region... 4.00 for a drink, 4.50 for popcorn and a 20 minute wait in line to go with it :eek:

 

My last comment, the atmosphere at the much anticipated Holmes vs. NCC rematch was a disappointment to say the least. The arena just seemed dead quite. 10th region and 11th region tournament games I attended the gyms were rocking!! The 9th just seemed uninterested.

Edited March 5, 201313 yr by KY_Straight_Shooter
Mis worded

The 9th region tourney belongs at Holmes. The BOK is easier for me personally, but it kills the atmosphere. Anybody can say it was crowded yesterday. It wasn't. Look at the pictures. Tons of open seats. On top of that, the folks running the arena are clueless.

 

If NKU ever gets good, maybe they'll learn how to handle a crowd. Right now they don't have a clue. It's the same thing no matter what the event at the arena. Living close to the arena, I sometimes make the mistake of cutting through NKU at the wrong time when there's something going on there. Parking is a mess whether it's regional basketball, concerts, arena football, or monster trucks. The parking garage seems to be poorly designed for entrance and exit. The prices are a ripoff for students.

 

No way Holmes has enough parking for a regional tourney!

No way Holmes has enough parking for a regional tourney!

Tourney used to be rotated among the three largest HS gyms in each of the three counties, of course. And let's not forget that the final -- and sometimes the semis too -- used to be televised live on Insight Ch. 6. (As recently as '07?) So one always had the option of watching the game at home. No longer the case. Hence, you need a nice large facility like NKU's.