The NSAA Board of Control will hear proposal presentations from Omaha and Lincoln on Thursday at the NSAA offices in Lincoln.

Omaha will present its proposal at 9:15 a.m., with Lincoln's proposal coming at 10:45 a.m. The board will make its decision Friday afternoon.

what is this for?

Will determine where the State Wrestling Tournament is held the next 2 years. Also understand they are looking at the infamous "JV Rule"

Let's hope they can get 2 things right at the same meeting...

We would sure like to see it stay in our State Capitol where State belongs.

I sure wouldn't, Im tired of wrestling in a dirty, crowded, and unsafe environment. NSAA breaks its own regulations by having the tourney there, there isnt enough room between mats and scoring tables are dangerously close to the mats. The warm up and weigh in room (Nebraska wrestling room) is entirely too small, numerous collisions in there while athletes are trying to warm up. And I didnt see a clean seat in the house by the time the second session rolled around....second session people there were what, seven of them???

I'll have a report on both proposals on the NWI site this afternoon.

According to the agenda, Omaha and Lincoln should have already made their presentation for several sports with other cities coming up.



VI. New Business, Action Items


A. Hear Presentations for State Event Site Selections (Thursday) (pp. 23-27)

1. Omaha (9:15 a.m.) – Wrestling, Baseball, Track, Boys and Girls Tennis

2. North Platte (10:15 a.m.) – Boys Golf

3. Lincoln (10:45 a.m.) – Basketball, Wrestling, Baseball, Boys and Girls Tennis, Boys Golf, Swimming and Diving

4. Kearney (1:30 p.m.) – Boys Golf, Speech, and Debate


Quite a few interesting agenda items for today/tomorrow's meeting...

Heard from Mike C and he said the Omaha presentation was fantastic. He says they covered all the bases and there's no way that Omaha shouldn't get the event. But of course he said they felt the same way a few years ago. Keep fingers crossed.

or uncrossed

We have heard many opinions on this issie from coaches and fans. What do the athletes think?
Really that is who the tourney is for.

Here's the skinny. I included a comparison of the major issues, so decide for yourself. I went into today's meeting with an open mind and gave both proposals the benefit of the doubt, but after looking over both of them, Omaha addressed all the issues the NSAA had two years ago and has far and away a better proposal then Lincoln.

But that's just my opinion...read and think for yourself:

Omaha, Lincoln make their pitches

I hope someone asked Lincoln if they think it's funny when a handicapped person has to trudge through a mile of mud because they don't have anymore handicapped stalls. Also who is the bozo that is talking about safety being of little concern? Huh? Does this guy even know anything about the sport of wrestling and what goes on down there on the floor?

I've said it before and will continue to say it: the kids come first and their needs should preclude most financial decisions in this situation.

Having said that, I think the fact that Omaha will pony up the $50G for facility rent takes away Lincoln's only trump card in this issue. Looking at the other major issues, here's what I think...

Seating capacity -- Omaha gets it hands down. Splitting the tournament into two classes was a non-option in 2003, and it holds true today. Splitting the tournament would be bad for what it means to the entire wrestling community.

Floor space -- This is the big one. Even with an 8-mat setup, Qwest has 41 percent more space than Devaney. And that's eight FULL-SIZED mats, not the smaller versions we see now at state.

Parking -- this is 2005, and the days of free parking are pretty much gone (and as for whatever positives free parking offers, well, you get what you pay for). The parking fee is a lot more palatable than what was offered two years ago, and schools get to park free (another trump card stolen). And a lot of handicapped parking will be far and away better than Devaney.

Tickets -- Qwest would take care of the tickets, which could make for better availability for everybody. And with as many as 2,000 extra tickets available, the odds of not getting in are reduced tremendously.

Hotels -- The Hilton is right across the street, plenty of hotels a short drive away. And with shuttle service to and from the majority of hotels in the area, this would save you parking fees.

Athlete amenities -- Gee, SEVEN locker rooms, THREE full-sized warm-up mats AND separate weigh-in and training areas? The sardine can that is the Devaney wrestling room is getting smaller every day.

Tenopir was right on one thing -- tradition is what you make it. We had to make a new tradition when the tournament moved from the Coliseum to Devaney, and a new tradition was made each time the tournament moved from its other locations. We'll make a new tradition if it's moved to Qwest, and there are some things Omaha's facility can offer that Lincoln's can't that would help build on that.

It's an open and shut case...but the NSAA has been known to stick its fingers in before the case went shut, so stay tuned...

Sounds like a no-brainer to me. My son wrestles and hopefully someday he'll qualify for state tourney. He'd wrestle in the parking lot if necessary just for chance to compete at State. I like the walk of Champions but I know Iowa has all place winners walk in the Walk of Champions. More room might be able to allow all placers to participate in the walk of Champions.

I agree, that parking at Devaney sucks, and it got worse, because there were fewer spaces this year.
But, will qwest be better? I am not familiar with the area. Are there little nooks and crannies around it, like at Devaney? If they give up a bunch of spots and have only 3900 (3400 outdoor and 500 garage) left, where are the other 8000 going to park?

I don't want to start an argument, actually, I am trying to start planning for it. I think with what I have read, Omaha should get it. I may have to go scout out parking spots and hotels.

The other thing that I didn't like was that the 480 exit was closed after Big 12's. Because we went back the way we came, but the exit was closed...so we had to wander for awhile.

hopefully that will be fixed. It was very easy to get to qwest, but not so easy leaving...but again, some advance scouting should help that.

Guys,
While I have been to both sites and feel Qwest is a larger and very nice facility I think you are missing a few points or at least misleading on a few points.
Hotels 1st of all, yes the Hilton is not only right across the street but it is connected. Please price this out for me when you get a chance. There are several other very nice and very EXSPENSIVE hotels right near by. There are no budget 8 types any where close and for the argument that you can get a shuttle please contact me when super and budget start having shuttle service. This does nothing for your theory about saving $$$ on parking.

Tickets, while I agree the ticket issue in Lincoln is not real great, at least you can enter the BOB with much more ease than you will Qwest, 2 escalators and 1 set of stairs up and unless they let you stand inside (going to the north) it will be a very long wait. Yes I know there is an entrance on the south end upstairs but when I checked this was for REENTRY ONLY.

Food, there are some fantastic venues for food not only in the arena but also with in walking distance, to bad it will cost a minumum of $10.00 a meal. Heck I think I paid $7.50 for a pitiful hot dog and a pepsi. There are not any fast food-resonable priced restraunts any where close.

The pluses are many for Qwest, mat safety, warm up, seating capacity (NOT COMFORT, not a bit of leg room), paved lots, and so on. But do not think for a minute that Qwest is the answer to end all, it has its draw backs just like the BOB and where ever this ends up being you should all get behind it and support the city and the center it will be held at and not be negative towards it in any way.

My 3 Cents worth.

I agree with you too Hawk.
Bigger and Better, always means more expensive.
which I don't really like.
These kids and their families shouldn't be taken advantage of like that. Give me a break, $$ for a hot dog. Robbery.
But, what can we do? Not much. We are at the mercy of the NSAA.

I think they should set amounts for ticket prices and concessions as well. This way they don't end up pricing people out of it.

We were paying $3 for a 16 oz gatorade and $3 for a slice of Vals down at the Devaney.

This is Brock Smith i think that it should stay in Lincoln because thats were i always wanted to wrestle when i was little.Ive wreslted there for two years now and ive not seen one thing rong with the place the tournament always ran smoothly and i injoy the place there is alot of history behind that building and theres been alot of great wrestlers there also.So why beak a tradtion thats been around for many years were my uncle wrestled my brother and my cuzin wrestled too.I always say dont fix it if its not broken.

Brock Smith

HB,
A bit of sarcasim here, Vals pizza (another tradition) versues a real BAD hot dog for $4.00. I say the Vals every time, even cold Vals wins hands down.
Think of all the times you ate that cold Vals on Sunday morning after a party. Bet that you never ate a hot dog then.

Any way I think there are pluses for each place and my points are just that. And where ever it is I will go and support it with out a bit of complaining (well maybe a bit) publicly and I would hope everyone would do the same. Support the sport and not worry about where it is held so much.