Class 6A and 5A state wrestling: where will it be?

The Class 6A and 5A wrestling tournament spent decades at the Kansas Coliseum. But in February, it went to the Intrust Bank Arena. Find me a person who didn’t like that idea, and well, I’ll be shocked. It’s a new arena, it’s downtown, it’s a great showcase for wrestling.

But as we know now, that didn’t work out so well, and the Kansas State High School Activities Association lost money on the deal.

So what happens for February 2011? It could be back at the downtown arena or at Hartman Arena.

I talked with KSHSAA executive director Gary Musselman this morning, and he said that the KSHSAA has had talks with Hartman Arena and Intrust Bank Arena.

The KSHSAA had looked at having the tournament in Topeka, but scheduling made it an unworkable option.

Keeping it in Wichita is also ideal because of the high number of volunteers that are already in place here.

Hartman Arena and Intrust Bank Arena are very different.

Intrust Bank Arena was a great place to have this tournament. Spacious, beautiful. But the cost cannot be an issue.

Musselman said that one site can’t not suck all the revenue earned from other tournaments, as happened this year.

Hartman Arena is much more cozy. It seats 5,000 and will be able to hold the 8 wrestling mats (that was my question, but it has an arena football field, so obviously it’s OK).

The state wrestling meet generally draws around 6,000 to 6,500 fans over the two days, which is about perfect for Hartman Arena.

Musselman expects an announcement in about two weeks on where state wrestling will be.

This story was originally published May 14, 2010 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Class 6A and 5A state wrestling: where will it be?."