By Amy Arnett
Sports are a big deal here in the Mountain State; we love to cheer on our collegiate and minor league teams. Oftentimes, that spirit carries over into the local athletic scene as well. There are many community-based and high school teams that call West Virginia home, and their tournaments draw large numbers of participants and supporters. Events of this size require facilities that can handle crowds, and West Virginia has numerous options for tournaments for every sport. The benefits of having large facilities like the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, the Bridgeport Conference Complex in Bridgeport and the Summersville Arena & Conference Center in Summersville go beyond housing a sports tournament. Attracting participants from several other states and from every part of West Virginia leads to positive economic benefits for cities that invest in these facilities.
WesBanco Arena
In 1978, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC) purchased floor clocks for their wrestling tournament and stored them at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, WV. In 1979, OVAC began holding its annual wrestling tournament at the arena, and it has become the event’s permanent home. The tournament, which has since been named the Ron Mauck Tournament after its longtime director, brings almost 40 schools to the arena for one weekend each January.
WesBanco Arena facilitates more than a wrestling tournament for OVAC; it also hosts their annual cheerleading competition and houses the OVAC Hall of Fame and a small museum on the second floor of the arena. “WesBanco holds our history,” says Ron Mauck, who still works with the tournament each year, coordinating with his successor, Dr. Dan Doyle. “We’ve had an unbelievable relationship with them. They are a very important part of our conference, and it all started with wrestling.”
In preparation for the tournament, the arena has to cover the ice with plywood, then eight mats are set up for the wrestlers. There are several matches happening at once, but coverage of the event has now become all-encompassing. Cameras are set up on each mat throughout the tournament, and each feed is broadcast over the Internet.
The Wheeling community has become a large part of the OVAC conference as well. “It has a very positive impact for us because we have a lot of rooms that go to wrestlers, their parents and staff,” says Steve Novotney, director of Marketing for The McClure Hotel. “I see several restaurants and businesses that react to the additional people in town. We welcome it for the positive impact but also because it is a tradition.”
Bridgeport Recreation Complex
Bridgeport, WV is now home to one of the newest facilities in the state, the Bridgeport Recreation Complex. The complex boasts four new baseball fields, a multipurpose field, a full-size basketball court and hiking trails. Since its establishment in 2012, the baseball fields have hosted more than 12 tournaments, including the Bridgeport Bracket Bash, which brings almost 40 teams into Bridgeport each summer.
“The Bridgeport Bracket Bash is one of the few tournaments where you can see the majority of the games in one location,” says Robert Marra, coordinator of the tournament. “In addition to that, each game is announced, and the scores are kept on a scoreboard. These are little touches that make a big difference and wouldn’t be possible without the Bridgeport Recreation Complex.”
The tournament began in 2011, but in 2012, Marra spoke with Don Burton, director of Bridgeport Parks and Recreation, about relocating the Bracket Bash to the newly-built recreation complex. “It was the first year of the complex, and we wanted to be able to show it off to as many people as possible,” says Marra. He and his wife, Diane, coordinated the tournament alongside Burton and volunteers from the community. “The complex is a tremendous facility. It’s built with the needs of the players and their families in mind.”
Burton says that hosting tournaments like this not only helps gain exposure for the new facility but also creates a domino effect for local businesses. “I would estimate that the revenue created from hotel rooms, gas, food and other expenses is around $750,000 per tournament,” says Burton. “Each family spends close to $500 on a weekend tournament. It has a major economic impact for the local community.”
Summersville Arena & Conference Center
In the southern part of the state, a local wrestling tournament has been growing in size since its formation in 2008. The Lumberjack Classic was started by Lee Parlier, who still coordinates the tournament today, with teams participating from Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia. Teams from 35 schools bring in approximately 700 wrestlers for two days in the winter to participate in more than 1,400 individual matches.
“My goal is for each spectator, wrestler and coach to have a great experience,” says Parlier. “I stay in touch with participants during the entire year, and I am always asking for any input that could improve the tournament.” One of the improvements Parlier hopes to make this year is adding an additional mat, something that is possible because of the Summersville facility. “Without the available square footage on the floor, it would not be possible for us to do what we do.”
Many of the tournament’s participants return year after year to what many say is their favorite competition. Greenbrier West High School Coach Jeremy Tincher has been coaching wrestling since 1996 and now attends The Lumberjack Classic each year with his students. “I love going to Summersville because it’s close, and there is some great competition,” says Tincher. “Sometimes, we have to travel three hours or more to get quality competition, but this tournament brings teams from all over close to home.”
Wrestling is a high-contact sport, and a facility’s cleanliness is a concern for many of the coaches. With a facility like Summersville Arena, coaches are at ease knowing that the mats are clean and there is enough room for their teams and parents to be comfortable. “A wrestling tournament can be a big undertaking, and by the end of the week, you’re pretty worn out,” says Tincher. “It’s a great thing to be able to have room to relax and find places to sit down or get away from the crowds.”
