Having been a regular attendee I was anxious to go to the QWEST and see how it compared. I can tell you that I think it was much more comfortable and that the matts were much better for wrestling as the bleachers would not affect the outcome of any match. The only drawback as I see (other than food prices) is the atmosphere. As I walked to the arena through the volleyball and arrived at the arena I didn't even think about it but.....it appeared to me as just another event to QWEST. When at Devaney the entire emphasis was on wrestling with no distractions. I have always thought that the Parade of Champions was awesome and this was no different but I do think that the use of dimming lights and laser at the QWEST could have enhanced it a bit it is for the wrestlers and they were treated with apprecation. This is only the first year but in my humble opinion the atmosphere needs to be enhanced.

One up I totally agree. It was the lack of so called "atmosphere" that I noticed. Don"t know if it was just the size of qwest or what but something was missing. I liked everything else about it and so did my son who wrestled. He was in the parade and it gave him goosebumps.

A friend of mine and I were talking about the Parade of Champions and totally agree that the Qwest Center kinda did a bad job on that part of the Tourney.

I agree the Atmosphere was somewhat not apparent, but hopefully in the future it will return. That is what makes State Wrestling the best event in Nebraska.

I liked it, the only thing that needs to be changed is they way the mats were set up before the finals. It was very hard to see mat 1 on the b side from where I was seated.

I enjoyed the whole event, but heard alot of wrestlers say how cold it was in the warm-up area and down on the floor.

personally, i heard more coaches and wreslters complain about things they had to deal with more than the fans...i think that the coaches and wrestlers need to be satisfied with the facilities more so than the fans. it may have been a great time for the fans, but who is the tournament for? that needs to be adressed before next year if they want to keep it in omaha.

AS A WRESTLER
It was very cold on the floor and the warm up room was very unwelcoming...At the Deavany, you got to warm up in the "Huskers practice room" and was able to see plaques and read stories of Husker wrestlers. It was very warm and you had a trainers room available to the wrestlers right there. You also got to be on the exact mat the Huskers get to practice on, it felt like you were apart of history. At the Qwest, you get a piece of a hallway with about 8 different styles of mats layed down and pillars right in the middle of the warm up mats. You also didn't have security down your throat to enter the warm up area at Devany, if a kid has a friend or relative that gets them ready the best for a match but they don't have a floor pass, they could go in the warm up room with them and help get them prepared. Also, say if you had a sparing parter all year long that you practiced and warmed up the best with and they didn't make state, they could come spare with you down in the warm up area.

As for more room on the floor, there was...on the North and South sides where it went from bleachers at the Devany to hard cold concrete at the Qwest (not much safe if you ask me). On the east and west ends where room matters the most, there was the same amount of room and the scorers tables were just as close as they were in the Devany. So there was really no difference on the floor between the two facilities.

The atmosphere wasn't lacking...it was nonexistant!!! It felt sort of like a big tournament in a high school gym. And not being able to hang banners (which there was no place for them anyways) is another point against the Qwest. The Qwest didn't do a good job of making the wrestlers feel like were being rewarded to make state. Like state previously, it was ran like it was just "another Qwest event". I for one, in the eyes of a previous state competitor, DID NOT like the Qwest Center. The only thing I liked, was looking down from the very top and seeing how big the place was. Great place for college basketball, concerts, and bike stunt shows, just not the place for wrestlers to compete for a state title.


AS A FAN
Well, beings that I was a coach that road with the team, but didn't have a fancy pass to get on the floor because I wasn't the head or first assistant coach, I had to walk from the school parking area around to the front doors and still stand and wait in a lobby packed full of people waiting to get in. Although it was a warmer than standing outside for general admission tickets, I still wouldn't have mind standing outside and I wouldn't had to have walked around the Devany to get to the entrance to the fans. The seating had good line of sight for most matches, but they were pretty close togther. I am a pretty small guy and even I had to sit one chair away from someone else because it was too close, not to mention the bruises on my knees from the stupid cups holders. I had Nachos sitting one my lap and a girl in front of me readjusted her her by flipping in back and she got cheese all over her hair. I don't care if there is more seating in the Qwest, more seating = less room. As a fan and a wrestler, I enjoyed looking at the banners and all the homemade signs for the kids, it made them feel special to see there name plastered on the wall. At the Qwest, it was like they were another pawn in the game.

AS A COACH
It was rediculous the secuirity you had to go through just to get to the match to coach your kid. There were 5 guards at the top the coaches and wrestlers sitting area, there were guards at the bottom (worthless guards, obviously if you made it past the first set of gaurds to be on the floor, you had permision to be in the seats, they checked you walking both ways), and you had guards checking you to get from the floor to the mat area. That's a total of 11 guards watching coaches, wrestler's, floor workers, ref's, and media. At the Devany...4 four guards, one at each corner.

Overall, I vote Devany 100%, but obviously, my vote doesn't count for much.

I had absolutly no problem as a coach getting anywhere on the floor. I showed my wrist band as I walked through and received no problems. The thing I noticed the most was how curtious the staff was at the Qwest Center compared to the Devaney.

I don't understand the complaints about the seats. Basketball fans tend to be taller and the Qwest Center is used for Creighton basketball. I never heard a single complaint from the basketball fans about the seats. It sounds like anti Qwest fans are reaching here. Someone flips their hair at Devaney it will still get in your nachos (sorry Twdinger) and I liked the cup holders at least you had somewhere to put your drink.

From my point of view the atmosphere was exciting. The facility felt more like some of the national tournaments that I have been at, but the wrestling still felt like state. Getting around on the floor was 100% easier. Space between the wrestling circles was much better, I did not see matches stopped because someone from the next mat came onto your mat(not that it did not happen). At the Devaney matches were stopped several times each day because of the closer circles. The parade of champions was as exciting as ever and the music seemed louder than the past couple of years (which was good).

There are a few minor things to fix and the NSAA knew there would be that is why they will send out a survey to the coaches asking for input. Overall it was a great experience. The excitement of the state tournament felt the same just in a different place (and better place).

A lot of the complaints I have heard are of, in my opinion, the nit-picky variety that somehow justifies, in the minds of the complainers, moving the tournament back to Lincoln.

The fact of the matter is this -- there was much more space for the wrestlers to compete in, which allowed matches to flow and actually got each session over with much faster than ever (Thursday we were done by 9:30, and I don't recall a last match ever getting done before 10 at Devaney, although I could be wrong).

And you were right about the Qwest staff -- they were a zillion times easier to deal with than at Devaney. I asked one of the staff members where I could find some ice, and not only did he show me where the ice machine was, he actually helped get what I needed AND said that if I needed anything else to let him know. That's the kind of service you would NEVER get in the old place.

About the only negative I saw about Qwest was the drafty conditions in the warm-up area and the somewhat constricted weigh-in area. I think that once those situations are resolved, there isn't much more you can do for the WRESTLERS' experience there.

As for the fans, there are some things that need to be expected with the change, including concessions. Yes, they cost more, but you also GET more -- both in choice and portions -- than you did before. You are also parking in an infinitely better situation than before (and, quite honestly, the fact that you don't have to maneuver around mudholes should be WORTH $6 a day, I would think).

I realize the fans and families help make the tournament experience a great one for everybody involved. But remember -- this is the WRESTLERS' tournament, not the FANS'. Their safety and security always will be the NSAA's first priority (with money a close second), and the sooner people accept that the better off we all will be.

Of course -- I know that people will always need something to whine about, so I'm not expecting that to happen. But that's their problem, not the wrestlers'...or mine, for that matter.

quote:

Originally posted by Loper:
personally, i heard more coaches and wreslters complain about things they had to deal with more than the fans...i think that the coaches and wrestlers need to be satisfied with the facilities more so than the fans. it may have been a great time for the fans, but who is the tournament for? that needs to be adressed before next year if they want to keep it in omaha.

Loper, I do not know which coaches and wrestlers that you were talking to, but by far the majority that I talked to felt that this was the right move (and I talked to a lot). Some were hesitant and missed some of the tradition, but agreed that the Qwest is the right place to be. New traditions will be made. I also talked to someone that remembers the move from the old Coliseum and said many of today's complaints were the same as the complaints about moving to the Devaney.

I will admit I was skeptical of the move to Omaha and I said I would reserve judgement until after state. I see both sides of the issue and my vote is Omaha, however the Big O needs to be more friendly towards teams, this is simple however. It is simple and all you have to do is let the city know that there are thousands of wrestling fans who want to know where your resteraunt is located. I will give the Qwest center a B+, but I give Omaha a d-.

You mean they were sellling $7 slices of pizza at Devaney back in 1977????

the chicken tenders where the best buy.

Over all the Qwest was good. Seating alot better than Devaney. As NWI said ....the wrestling warmup area was very cold. Yes I went down there before the finals to wish my son good luck and no one asked me anything. Mayber that was because the tournament was coming to a close...not sure, but I did walk by at least 2 security guards.

I was quite impressed with the layout...

Ok.. The scorers tables were next to the mat, but they were not ON the mat like in "The Bob".. Frees up at least 3' on the apron on that side. What's the alternative, back the tables up & narrow the walkway behind them?

There was not a 2' spacer between the rings, there was a FULL 5' (Rules book calls for minimum 28' circle plus a 5' apron, where facilities permit). What's the trade-off here... If they put all 7 sections down for each mat, that cuts down about another 18'-20' on the ends and people will complain about no room to stand at each end. I'll give, maybe another 2-3' of mat on the ends would have been nice to provide a little extra protection from the floor.

The heating situation... I was less than impressed with the weigh-in area... Needed to be larger and somewhere other than the loading dock. Warm up area also needed to be somewhere else (warmer).

In the Qwest's defense... They are still a business, and needed to continue working... Their job is to ensure the doors stay open, so despite what people think, the facility is big enough to host more than one event at a time and they should be allowed to do so without everyone whining about it.

The one negative that I heard that stuck with me though...no frosty malts. That's it, no Qwest for me!

From a coaches perspective: I thought the wrestling area was a big plus. As an official in Lincoln, you were always watching the bleachers out of one corner of your eye. Not here, they could concentrate on the action and make great calls. The seating for the coaches and wrestlers was much better.

The things to improve on: The warm up area was . . . a joke. And weigh in are always tough but something needs to be improved. I also feel that if it wasn't below zero outside, we might not have noticed the drafts so bad.

The atmosphere was a little short of Lincoln's. I am not sure if it is the size of Quest or what, I don't think the fans made less noize, just a large space to fill. A little more effort on the Quest side to make the wrestlers "appreciated" or "honored" might go a long way to filling the dead space.

I think the Quest can do better and would expect them to next year. But I am looking forward to the return trip next year.

Coach Aschoff

Badger

"Basketball fans tend to be taller and the Qwest Center is used for Creighton basketball."

Is this a study you have done?

Bottom line is.....do the coaches and wrestlers like it? If so, it should stay in Omaha.

I believe that some of the "atmosphere" would be brought to the Qwest if the seating assignments were better placed. Meaning that it seemed like schools and towns were very spread out when cheering. There is nothing like after a pin seeing a big area jump up and cheeras the wrestler acknowledges his supporters. If the schools were all put together, I think the atmosphere would have been better. Just a thought.

As a coach, I liked everything but the warm-up area. The accessibility from the stands to the floor was a huge plus. The sight lines from all seats was hands down better than Devaney. The atmosphere and temperature was a little cool, but those things are easy to change. You can't change the way you get from the stands to the floor or the bad sight lines at Devaney. The extra room on the floor was obvious. Another thing that stuck out in my mind were the employees at the Qwest. Whether is was a seating attendant, a custodian, a ticket taker, everyone was courteous.

The parking was great for teams, and our hotel was only 5 minutes from the Qwest. Overall, MUCH BETTER!!