Coliseum’s presence diminishes

Back in the day, your dyed-in-the-wool fan could watch every one of their favorite players and teams pass through the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum during the Central District high-school basketball tournament.

On a few Saturdays in February and March, the fan was in nirvana. At 10 a.m., the fan could grab their favorite seat in the cavernous building affectionately known as “The Barn” and soak in six games in succession, all the while sustaining on yummy Ohio State Fairgrounds food.

Everyone’s favorite one-stop hoops haven is no more. When the boys tournament tips off on Tuesday, it will be at nine predetermined high-school sites. Teams in all four divisions will have to win their way to the district finals for the privilege of playing on the same portable Coliseum floor their fathers and grandfathers did.

The move by the Central District Athletic Board was financially driven. The fee to rent the Fairgrounds facility is $900 per game, and figuring in other incidentals such as renting the microphone and sound system ($276 per game), installing phone lines, paying for highway patrol officers for security, etc., it’s an expensive undertaking.

Basketball is the Central District’s only money-maker and all profits are used to operate tournaments in nonrevenue sports.

“Using our school gymnasiums for the first few rounds will save the district a significant amount of money,” first-year tournament manager Max Ness said. “In addition, our schools that are gracious enough to volunteer to host a sectional will be able to make some money from concessions."

Ness, who also manages the girls tournament, sympathizes with those who have grown up watching high-school basketball at the Fairgrounds.

“My dad took me to my first Ohio State game at the Coliseum in 1955 and I have fond memories of that,” he said.

“I understand that people will be upset about the changes, but the Coliseum will remain a major presence for high-school basketball in central Ohio. We’ll just be playing fewer games there.”

Long-time Central District business manager Dave Siess, a retired athletic director from Westerville South, pointed to a gradual, but consistent, decline in attendance in recent years. Ohio High School Athletic Association officials confirmed a similar trend in their state tournaments.

“We had a district championship game in Division II last year between Mifflin and Eastmoor Academy that drew only 300 fans,” Siess said. “We took a bath on that game. We’ve talked about the cost factor for the past several years, but that game was a real eye-opener for us.”

The Central District is not alone in moving its tournament games to high schools with suitable facilities.

Except for Ohio University’s Convocation Center, which will play host to Southeast District semifinals in Divisions II, III and IV, Ohio’s other districts will wait until district finals to move into larger facilities.

The Fairgrounds’ rental fees are in the same ballpark with other prominent tournament sites at the University of Dayton, Bowling Green State University, Ohio University and Xavier University’s Cintas Center.

Ohio U.’s rental rate is $850 per day. Bowling Green and Dayton have fees that vary with the level of competition. Every site’s contract agreement includes different auxiliary fees; hence it’s difficult to draw specific comparisons.

“Amidst all the inflation, I’ve waged a lot of battles to keep prices down so that we can maintain our role as the showplace for high-school basketball in our part of the state,” Southeast District tournament manager Wayne Horsley said. “We want to host as many games as we can. We want people to come to our campus and see our facilities. It’s all good for the university.”

Southwest District manager Rob Durkle cited dwindling attendance for using the high schools instead of large arenas in the earlier rounds.

“The past three or four years, we’ve seen a dramatic decline in attendance overall,” he said. “ It all depends on your matchups. Some of the suburbs and smaller communities will bring out the whole town, but some of the urban and private schools hardly draw at all.

“Holding these early round games at local high schools can be a windfall profit for the boosters. With all the financial issues schools are having, it’s nice to be able to help them out."

While understanding the Central District’s decision, some veteran coaches will miss holding the tournament exclusively at the Coliseum. The site will play host to nine district finals and three regional games between March 7 and 18.

Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush has fond memories playing and coaching at “The Barn.”

“Our fans travel well, and something I’ve always loved to watch is when they open the doors, all of our fans run around that rink to get the best seats,” he said. “I let our players watch that a couple years ago so they could see the excitement in the faces of their friends and family members and sort of soak in some of the tradition of the Fairgrounds.”

Bloom-Carroll coach Tom Petty is one of a several dozen “regulars” who attend every game in the Coliseum, and not necessarily to scout.

“Dating back as far as I know, the Fairgrounds was the place to watch high-school basketball,” Petty said. “It was the big hangout for all the coaches and players. My dad and I have spent lots of hours together up there. During tournament time, I always set my practice schedule so I can get down there by 6 p.m. for the first game. There are certain coaches and groups of coaches who have sat in the same seat for years and years. Time seems to stand still in that building.”