Now that we have our first year in Frankfort under our belts, what are the pros and cons between the two venues???

 

I'll start by saying that if you stayed at the Capital Plaza Hotel, you life was made easy with the ability to walk back and forth to the games, and the hotel did a great job having three hot meals available in the Terrace Restaurant. The rooms were spacious and the wireless internet was reliable.

HOWEVER Parking was a nightmare. What was suppose to be "Hotel Only" parking was open season to everyone coming to the games and often if you left the garage, you couldn't find a place in it when you returned. I tried to squeeze into a spot, only to scrape up my passenger side door, AND while it was parked in the garage the first night, had my gas tank siphoned. No attendent, no cameras, no security. My strong suggestion to Stan Steidel in my comments will be to insist that the garage be manned, and that the "Hotel Guests Only" requirement be enforced.

 

The Arena - One men's room located in a corner on the first floor - boo!!! The concession stands seemed oddly positioned. One on the main floor, directly underneath a basket, and the other in the far reaches of the extreme upper deck. Also the concession fare was poor. Add a Chick-Fil-A sandwich to the hot dog/pizza agenda and I might like it better.

I did think the arena was a nice place to watch a game, and liked the bright lights over the playing surface, spotlighting the playing of the game. The scoreboards were wierd in that instead of displaying information vertically, what was there was posted horizontally on two boards. Never were individual player fouls posted, which makes it tough if you are wearing headsets. The staff did their best to provide up to the minute stats after each quarter.

Never did the facility threaten, or remotely threaten to sell out.

 

Press Facilities - Press row at Richmond was directly behind the benches. At Frankfort they are in a crow's nest near the top of the arena. The area is dark with several of the lights not operational, and only one four outlet power source for the entire area. The in-house wireless was superb. The interview room/media room was far inferior to that at Richmond. The players and coaches being interviewed prbably felt more like they were in a lineup, than just having won or lost a basketball game.

 

Frankfort itself can't hold a candle to Richmond as far as eateries, and things to do and places to go. Unless you got in your car/bus and went out 127 to nearly I-64 there was NOTHING in the vicinity of the arena short of a Gatti's buffet pizza place.

 

Being an old dog that doesn't want to learn new tricks, I would have preferred it stay in Richmond, but under the assumption that it had no choice but to move, I guess it will serve as a suitable replacement for the next two years - BUT I would be out there shopping to find a more suitable venue as we speak.

- BUT I would be out there shopping to find a more suitable venue as we speak.

 

Bank of Kentucky Center?

Didn't like having no player of the game trophy for each game like at EKU. Concessions weren't as good but there wasn't a bad seat in the house. Parking was great and getting in and out was good. There was no halftime activities between the schools, just nothing. Personally, I didn't walk away with a feeling that this was a "special" tournament. Also, having no internet video was a real bummer. Hopefully, Frankfort will make this more special in the next two years.

I'm assuming the National Guard Player of the Game was an EKU thing???

 

What happened to the Wazoo sports televised coverage of the semis and finals???

Wazoo is in BK court.

I don't follow the All A very closely but this is not a KHSAA sanctioned event correct? If it is not, won't the new NCAA ruling on non-scholastic events being held at the main practice or playing facility of an NCAA member limit were this tournament can be held? This would remove EKU, Diddle, etc. And with NKU moving up I would assume BOK is out also.

I agree with Mustang on his points. We were spoiled at Richmond. Everything was close. Restaurants, parking, media room, etc.

 

As far as the venue itself, for what we do, was good. Shooting video being close to the benches, you would always have a coach or referee in the shot. Where I was, perched above Mustang, we had a clear shot.

 

They had no "entertainment" at halftime this year. No National Guard presence. No balloon guardsman to hand out trophys to kids shooting from different parts of the floor.

 

It also seems that a lot of teams left instead of sticking around. I did ask and the teams could have stayed if they wanted to. Their hotels were still being paid for.

 

I guess I got lucky and only had to pay to park once. The support staff/volunteers were great. Always willing to get you what you needed.

 

We'll have a couple of more years to work there. One suggestion, make your hotel reservations early, like a month or so early. I got lucky and found a cancellation, otherwise I would have been staying in Georgetown/Lexington.

Very comfortable from a spectators perspective.

I enjoyed the arena but agree nothing going on in the town. Any word on bedbugs at the Capitol plaza? I heard an unconfirmed rumor one of the teams expereinced them and also read in the reviews prior that they had issues?

From a fans perspective, I loved Frankfort. It's about 30 minutes closer to home and staying at the Capital Plaza, walking out the door to the games was awesome. I didn't have any problems with the free parking at all. The seating is much nicer too, since you can sit so close to the court. Really enjoyed walking around the town seeing all the history it has to offer. Walked to Rick's White Light Diner Saturday, which was featured on "Diners, Dives & Drive-Ins". He is one unique character! Great food, a must stop. Also ate at a local pizza place and a local home cooking place during the days which were only 2 or 3 blocks from the arena. Ate at Applebee's one night and Longhorn the other, which were only a few miles away. There were lots of other "name" restaurants around too.

My only complaint is the cost for kids to get in. Knew someone who brought 4 kids and it cost him $50. That's tough for families!

Having it at Alumni at EKU is so much better. Richmond is a college town and is built to host a tournament like the All A. It will be back in Richmond after this stint in Frankfort is over and the great people around here will welcome it back and certainly know how to host a tournament.

Now that we have our first year in Frankfort under our belts, what are the pros and cons between the two venues???

 

I'll start by saying that if you stayed at the Capital Plaza Hotel, you life was made easy with the ability to walk back and forth to the games, and the hotel did a great job having three hot meals available in the Terrace Restaurant. The rooms were spacious and the wireless internet was reliable.

 

Did the commute every day thing, so I don't have any comments about the hotel accommodations.

 

HOWEVER Parking was a nightmare. What was suppose to be "Hotel Only" parking was open season to everyone coming to the games and often if you left the garage, you couldn't find a place in it when you returned. I tried to squeeze into a spot, only to scrape up my passenger side door, AND while it was parked in the garage the first night, had my gas tank siphoned. No attendent, no cameras, no security. My strong suggestion to Stan Steidel in my comments will be to insist that the garage be manned, and that the "Hotel Guests Only" requirement be enforced.

 

I had no problems parking whatsoever and never had to walk more than a half a block. Two of the four days I parked right on the street across from the back entrance to the arena. Weirdly enough, there was a guy directing people to $5 parking just off that street at a time when there were open spots on the street. Can't imagine he made too much money.

 

 

The Arena - One men's room located in a corner on the first floor - boo!!! The concession stands seemed oddly positioned. One on the main floor, directly underneath a basket, and the other in the far reaches of the extreme upper deck. Also the concession fare was poor. Add a Chick-Fil-A sandwich to the hot dog/pizza agenda and I might like it better.

I did think the arena was a nice place to watch a game, and liked the bright lights over the playing surface, spotlighting the playing of the game. The scoreboards were wierd in that instead of displaying information vertically, what was there was posted horizontally on two boards. Never were individual player fouls posted, which makes it tough if you are wearing headsets. The staff did their best to provide up to the minute stats after each quarter.

Never did the facility threaten, or remotely threaten to sell out.

 

There were men's restrooms on opposite corners of the arena floor. The one closest to the plaza entrance was always busy, but the other one rarely was. Shouldn't have been too much waiting either way.

 

I agree that it is a great place to watch a game and an arena I would like to see used more often for HS games. The lighting, especially, makes it a drastic improvement over EKU's McBrayer, which is an awful place to see a game. Usually after three or four days in Richmond at games I end up coming down with something because of the dark, sickly greenish-yellow tint of the arena beating down my immune system. No danger of that in Frankfort.

 

Press Facilities - Press row at Richmond was directly behind the benches. At Frankfort they are in a crow's nest near the top of the arena. The area is dark with several of the lights not operational, and only one four outlet power source for the entire area. The in-house wireless was superb. The interview room/media room was far inferior to that at Richmond. The players and coaches being interviewed prbably felt more like they were in a lineup, than just having won or lost a basketball game.

 

I have mixed opinions on this. Didn't use the upstairs press row, so can't attest to that. The post-game interview setup seemed haphazardly put together, and it was inconsistent as to whether you were to wait outside locker rooms or wait for event staff to bring coaches/players into the media room. The folks in Richmond did a better job of making it feel like a big event, whereas some of the folks in Frankfort seemed put off by all of it. The hospitality room food was good, but I didn't like the restricted access. I shouldn't have to burn my hospitality room pass just to get a water or an apple, something I didn't have to do in Richmond.

 

Frankfort itself can't hold a candle to Richmond as far as eateries, and things to do and places to go. Unless you got in your car/bus and went out 127 to nearly I-64 there was NOTHING in the vicinity of the arena short of a Gatti's buffet pizza place.

 

This I completely disagree with, unless yours is a palate that only permits fast food/chain restaurants. There are several good places within a short walk of the arena. True, all the Wendy's and McDonalds of the world are on either the east side or west side hill. But there are a number of good local eateries downtown. And there is tons of history-related stuff within walking distance of the arena in Frankfort. There's nothing to do in Richmond but drink.

 

One of my favorites places in Frankfort is the Dragon pub, which is right on the river and has great sandwiches, especially the reuben. Frankfort's best restaurant is Thai Smile, which is in the Century Plaza on the west side hill. I find an excuse to go visit my buddy in Frankfort every couple weeks or so just to go there.

 

Being an old dog that doesn't want to learn new tricks, I would have preferred it stay in Richmond, but under the assumption that it had no choice but to move, I guess it will serve as a suitable replacement for the next two years - BUT I would be out there shopping to find a more suitable venue as we speak.

 

I agree that we kind of got used to Richmond, but I would like to see it stay in Frankfort, myself. The problems you mention are pretty much all ones that can be made better after a year of experience. One way to solve the press row problems would be to set up a larger press table on the east end of the arena near the media room the way the KHSAA usually does for the State Wrestling tourney when it's in Frankfort.

Did the commute every day thing, so I don't have any comments about the hotel accommodations.

 

 

 

I had no problems parking whatsoever and never had to walk more than a half a block. Two of the four days I parked right on the street across from the back entrance to the arena. Weirdly enough, there was a guy directing people to $5 parking just off that street at a time when there were open spots on the street. Can't imagine he made too much money.

 

 

 

 

There were men's restrooms on opposite corners of the arena floor. The one closest to the plaza entrance was always busy, but the other one rarely was. Shouldn't have been too much waiting either way.

 

I agree that it is a great place to watch a game and an arena I would like to see used more often for HS games. The lighting, especially, makes it a drastic improvement over EKU's McBrayer, which is an awful place to see a game. Usually after three or four days in Richmond at games I end up coming down with something because of the dark, sickly greenish-yellow tint of the arena beating down my immune system. No danger of that in Frankfort.

 

 

 

I have mixed opinions on this. Didn't use the upstairs press row, so can't attest to that. The post-game interview setup seemed haphazardly put together, and it was inconsistent as to whether you were to wait outside locker rooms or wait for event staff to bring coaches/players into the media room. The folks in Richmond did a better job of making it feel like a big event, whereas some of the folks in Frankfort seemed put off by all of it. The hospitality room food was good, but I didn't like the restricted access. I shouldn't have to burn my hospitality room pass just to get a water or an apple, something I didn't have to do in Richmond.

 

 

 

This I completely disagree with, unless yours is a palate that only permits fast food/chain restaurants. There are several good places within a short walk of the arena. True, all the Wendy's and McDonalds of the world are on either the east side or west side hill. But there are a number of good local eateries downtown. And there is tons of history-related stuff within walking distance of the arena in Frankfort. There's nothing to do in Richmond but drink.

 

One of my favorites places in Frankfort is the Dragon pub, which is right on the river and has great sandwiches, especially the reuben. Frankfort's best restaurant is Thai Smile, which is in the Century Plaza on the west side hill. I find an excuse to go visit my buddy in Frankfort every couple weeks or so just to go there.

 

 

 

I agree that we kind of got used to Richmond, but I would like to see it stay in Frankfort, myself. The problems you mention are pretty much all ones that can be made better after a year of experience. One way to solve the press row problems would be to set up a larger press table on the east end of the arena near the media room the way the KHSAA usually does for the State Wrestling tourney when it's in Frankfort.

Agree with you, Jim.

I liked Richmond better, but mostly for a selfish reason---one hour drive as opposed to 2 hours.

 

But Frankfort was okay.The lighting was much better in Frankfort. And there's really not a bad seat in the arena. Plus, I have two sisters who live in Frankfort that I can stay with if I decide to stay overnight.

 

However, it didn't seem to have the 'big event' feel to it that EKU had. EKU, however, didn't have the big event feel that Memorial Coliseum had when it was there for the ignaugural statewide All A in 1990. I really liked Memorial, and I hope if it ever leaves Frankfort that the organizers will consider that venue once more.

Having it at Alumni at EKU is so much better. Richmond is a college town and is built to host a tournament like the All A. It will be back in Richmond after this stint in Frankfort is over and the great people around here will welcome it back and certainly know how to host a tournament.

 

Doubtful. From what I understand EKU doesn't want it back.