The Times-Tribune
CORBIN — By Tim Branstetter / Staff Writer
The first ever region tournament held at The Arena has come and gone and the host of the event, North Laurel High School, was able to pull off a successful tournament that included breaking all past attendance records.
Although they were treading on new ground, North Laurel Athletic Director Jimmy Durham feels they were able to put on a good show for the fans while providing a great atmosphere for the players.
Several people had mixed feelings on having the tournament at The Arena, but in the end, the $50,000 guarantee that was promised to be split between the 17 schools in the 13th region was easily met.
“We blew the past attendance record out of the water. We were able to meet the $50,000 guarantee before the semifinals,” Durham said. “During the first night of the boys games, the attendance tripled from recent years. I think once the money is distributed, people will realize how much it will help fund the non-revenue sports. So why limit yourself?”
Durham also talked about the atmosphere and how family friendly the tournament was.
“I think people were skeptical in the beginning,” he noted. “But once they realized how comfortable it was to watch a game there and how family friendly it was, it brought them back. We saw kids running around and playing and it was just more comfortable with all the room.”
Durham admitted that areas of the tournament could be tweaked, but he also added that a lot of hard work and man hours went into preparing for the event. He felt the staff at The Arena was a big help and wanted to note the professional approach they used.
“The Arena staff was nothing short of amazing to work with,” he said. “The hospitality was above anything we could have hoped for. It was a combined team effort with our school and The Arena staff. Being the first school to host the tournament, we wanted to make sure we did our best to make it a good experience.”
While he felt the hard work and dedication paid off, Durham admitted luck was on their side with the great matchups and the historical Corbin vs. Bell County four overtime game.
“The crowds were eye catching,” he said. “We had close to 15,000 tickets sold. We were lucky with the way the matchups worked out. The Corbin vs. Bell County game was amazing. I think people realized how fortunate they were to be able to see a game like that. We could have never fit that many people in our gym.”
In the end, Durham's explanation of why The Arena proved to be a good place to have the tournament was pretty simple.
“It makes sense to people who have sense,” he said.
