The burden of travel for the 2017 State Tournament will be considerable for some...

[sevenof400]

First of all, please do NOT read this as any sort of complaint about Magnolia hosting the state tournament.  This post is only meant to illustrate the distances some schools will have to travel this year.  It should also be noted that in the sense of fairness in terms of moving the 5A state tournament around the state each year, it wasn't that long ago when Greene County Tech (in Paragould) hosted the tournament so over the years, the travel burden in basketball has been varied.

Click here for a visual of the 32 5A schools. 

[cannon]

Yeah, the venue could be better, from a convenience standpoint. IMHO, there are ample venues in central AR to accommodate the tournaments, and that's where the state tournaments should be held.

I'm in Jonesboro, so the travel will be a pain. What's more of a pain, however, is that the 5A venue is in a town with a population of 13k. We'll have to stay 30 minutes away in El Dorado. If a towns population isn't sufficient to support the influx of supporters for 32 teams, it shouldn't be hosting a tournament of that magnitude.

[mijally]

The basketball that will be played in the gym will make up for the troubles. My wish is that I could see it. A live stream of all the games would have a huge following.

[Yellowcake]

Agreed. They should have these in or around central arkansas. Travel for some is ridiculous.

Great map by the way!!

[HorseFeathers]

The basketball that will be played in the gym will make up for the troubles. My wish is that I could see it. A live stream of all the games would have a huge following.

Well I've been told the AAA charges upwards of a 1000 to stream one playoff football game....Don't want to know what it costs to stream an entire state tournament

[Hoghead2]

It depends on whose hosting the tournaments. When Greenwoood or Alma host it, it's a win win for the state and a privilage for teams to come to their city. If it's anything south of Hot Springs the complaint meter is pegged out. Magnolia has a fine arena. They have hotels in Magnolia and if you have to stay in El Dorado it isnt that bad. When Greenwood host fans stay in Ft. Smith. I understand Ft. Smith is closer, but Greenwood lacks in Hotels by a long shot. Magniloia is proud to host this tournament and the fans of south Arkansas are happy for the shorter rides as well. When Harrison host things in their fine facilities no one cares about the South schools travel woes. Build a facilty and bid on the tourney they're told. Ok they did, so let's play ball.
Now I don't have a problem with them Centralizing the tournaments. But what's good for the gooose is good for the gander. I think ALL FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS should be at Neautral sites. Anyway let's tip this thing off. Good luck to all !!!

[Ponca]

Just wait till Harrison hosts it. Everyone will have to travel North.

Here's the deal. Anyone can host these. Anyone. All they have to do is go to Little Rock in January and bid on it. The AAA awards it to highest bidder. The AAA also tries not to give it to same site 2 years in a row.

And here's the deal. It's usually only one or two places that bid on it. You'd think a lot more would bid on it.

And this is the case for all sports.  In some sports they don't even have a site bid at all.

And neutral sites will never happen. Why would a school go the the January bidding and bid on another classification? The only neutral site that routinely bids on these is North Arkansas College in Harrison. But they are usually motivated by if one of the areas smaller schools have a pretty good team. Kinda like the Hot Springs Convention Center hosting for Hot Springs last season.

I am surprised LR Parkview didn't partner with Barton or some place in Little Rock to get the 5A bid since both their boys and girls are favorites to win.

Hopefully this explains some things

Ponca

[mijally]

This is a dead end road. Do not enter.