State Volleyball goes west
In the first major move by the NSAA since the wrestling tournament went to Omaha, the state volleyball tournament will end a 29 year run in Lincoln this fall when the 2010 and 2011 state volleyball tournament will move to Kearney. According to quotes in the LJS article people feel the NSAA moving the volleyball tournament sends a clear message that the city of Lincoln needs to build an arena and that Pershing just isn’t cutting it anymore.
Following the board’s vote, York Superintendent Terry Kenealy described Pershing as “an old facility” and said the NSAA has heard from schools that “don’t want to play there.”
This is a massive blow to the city of Lincoln. The economic impact is going to be felt right away. State VB falls right at the end of the calendar year when stores are counting on those sales to finish off the year. If the NSAA were to ever decide to move basketball (which is the next step) it would be a big loss for the city.
Can the city sit idly by while the NSAA picks off these events one by one and sends them else where? Or is not building a new arena THAT important?
The Comments
Dave K says It's unfortunate that the NSAA April 5, 2009 at 3:12pm
It’s unfortunate that the NSAA injected itself into local politics. They will fully deserve the decreased attendance and revenue they will see with their move to Kearney. I half believe that the Lincoln folks asked them to use that as a reason for moving.