BasketballMind wrote:Flip wrote:BasketballMind wrote:Attendance at these tournaments is going to be interesting to keep track of. The pricing was set too high by the state and I think a lot of casual attendees are going to stream from home.
How much did prices increase?
You've probably stated your opinion on this before, but do you like having 4 separate state tournaments for A and B? I realize no one likes all the venues chosen.
Region tournament prices were set at $14 for adults and $10 for students. I don't know if the State tournament prices are going to be that as well or higher. That seems like a lot if you're following a team that makes a tournament run. You could have 7 nights at that expense if you make it to state and play in a challenge game. Fans of these teams are going start getting picky about when they go. I could see skipping Semi-Final night knowing they have a meaningful 3rd place game if they were to lose. If you're not watching your own kid play, might not be worth it when you can watch the game online. We already see low attendance in our regular season games now that everyone streams it someway or another.
The state tournaments are happening the only way possible given the confines of the calendar, venues, and schedule. I'm not a fan of it but there isn't much else for them to do. High School activities doesn't make a decision without factoring in making money, but I think they missed the boat on this one and are going to be surprised when these extra tournaments don't equal extra dollars.
For the record, having the A and B boys state tourney on the same weekend is a terrible idea in my opinion, same with having A and B girls same weekend. Myself, and others I know in the western part of the state would go to the B every year in Bismarck or Minot, didn't matter who was playing, it was fun. Now, with it split, the teams I follow may be playing in the State A in Fargo, some may also be playing in the B in Minot, I may stay home and watch rather than attend.
Also, this may be a crazy idea, why can't A boys and girls have their state tourney the same weekend in the same city? Same for B boys and girls. I know in the future they will have to adjust when the season start to make this happen. AA, or the old A did this. I believe Bismarck with the Event Center and Minot with the Dome and Auditorium could handle it.
My reason behind this is, using Bowman County for example. Say their girls team makes it to State, now they take off for 3 days to go to Jamestown, 250 miles away. Come home, next weekend their boys qualify for state, now they have to take off again for Minot, another 250 miles and weekend away from home. Not everyone can do this, and now the team may not get as much support, people either couldn't go again or took a chance, didn't go to girls and hoped boys would make it.
This can will potentially happen a fair amount for B, and also A.
I know that it probably wasn't possible this year due to venue availability, but could be something they look to in the future, probably might be some venue conflicts for the District/Region tourneys.
Right now, may of the B schools have Boys and Girls play on the same day now, they travel together and have just JV and Varsity as many of the B schools don't have enough kids for a C squad. I have heard of several 'Super Saturdays" this year, not to hard to squeeze in 4 games on a Saturday afternoon, it save travel dates and costs for the school.
Just my thoughts on this