By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When the Kentucky girls’ high school basketball state tournament comes to Northern Kentucky next year, it will be the first time the event has been held in a major metropolitan area.
The games will be played March 9-13 at BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University and St. Elizabeth Healthcare has agreed to be the corporate sponsor.
Julian Tackett, commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, is anxious to see what impact the change in venue will have on the tournament.
“We’ve got a real opportunity for growth here that we haven’t had before, and that’s really exciting for the girls,” Tackett said during a media conference on Monday at BB&T Arena. “Those girls get a three- or four-year window for an outstanding experience and you want to try and give them the best one you can. This is going to be a chance for us to see, can we improve it.”
A new logo that was created for the 2016 and 2017 state tournaments to be sponsored by St. Elizabeth Healthcare was unveiled during the media conference. After that two-year period, the KHSAA Board of Control will evaluate the tournament’s success at BB&T Arena and determine a direction for the future.
Garren Colvin, chief executive officer at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, said providing financial support for the 2016 and 2017 tournaments is “a great fit” for the organization that offers an extensive sports medicine program.
“As the largest employer in Northern Kentucky, we think it’s our responsibility to take care of this community,” Colvin said, “and this partnership with Northern Kentucky University and the Kentucky High School Athletic Association is a great way to do that.”
The amount of money St. Elizabeth Healthcare is putting up to sponsor the state tournament was not released. Tackett said he could not give an exact figure “until we get everything settled and signed.”
The girls’ state basketball tournament was played at Western Kentucky University’s Diddle Arena the last 15 years and sponsored by Houchens Industries, a grocery store chain based in Bowling Green.
In an article published by the Bowling Green Daily News, the sports sales director for the Bowling Green Area Convention & Visitors Bureau said the Houchens’ sponsorship package for the tournament “has typically been $50,000.”
“We’re working in close concert with St. Elizabeth, with the arena and ourselves on the best possible arrangement.” Tackett said.
The girls’ state basketball tournament will have a positive impact on the local economy. Each year, thousands of fans watch teams from 16 regional tournaments across the state compete in the five-day state tournament. They stay in local motels, eat at local restaurants and shop at local stores while attending the games.
Tackett said having the tournament in Northern Kentucky could draw more neutral fans who are not associated with a team than it did at the three previous tournament sites in Bowling Green, Richmond and Frankfort.
“The No. 1 thing that this does for our tournament is we’ve got it in a larger population center where perhaps we can build a neutral base,” Tackett said.