Peoria won't stand pat
Barry Temkin
On High Schools
March 11, 2005
Get ready for "Utter Madness III."
This is the sequel that may finally answer the question: Can Champaign-Urbana get its act together when it comes to bidding for the boys state basketball tournament?
In "Utter Madness I," a 1995 flick, Peoria's stunning bid stole the tournament out from under a slumbering, complacent Champaign-Urbana area that had played host to it for 77 consecutive years.
Five years later, Utter Madness' sequel occurred when the Illinois High School Association awarded a five-year contract to Peoria after Champaign sabotaged itself again by bidding only on the Class A tournament because of a potential scheduling conflict on the AA weekend.
But according to Emory Oney, executive director of the Champaign County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the University of Illinois is assembling a strong bid for both weekends this year.
"I think you will find it very competitive," he said.
For Champaign-Urbana and Peoria, central Illinois communities just 85 miles apart, the tournament means millions of dollars in economic impact and an immeasurable impact in image.
"We're not taking this lightly," said Don Western, the chairman of Peoria's tournament steering committee. "This is very important to the Peoria community both economically and from a prestige standpoint."
The deadline for bids is Monday. The IHSA Board of Directors is scheduled to choose a site at its April 26 meeting after receiving a recommendation from its staff.
The choice apparently will be Illinois' Assembly Hall or the Peoria Civic Center, the only two viable facilities known to be bidding. A lot has changed since 2000, and it makes "UM III" particularly intriguing.
For one thing, the March Madness Experience may not be the trump card it has been in the past. The Experience is Peoria's hugely popular interactive hoops amusement park, and what makes it hard for other venues to match is it is in the civic center's exhibition hall, just steps away from the tournament itself.
In 1995 the Experience was part of an unprecedented bid that blew away the IHSA. This year, though, the IHSA has listed special events, which includes the Experience, under "additional criteria" in its site proposal specifications.
According to IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman, evaluation of bids will focus mainly on "essential criteria," which basically means facilities and money.
"I think it's a nice thing and certainly an advantage," Hickman said of the Experience, "but it's not maybe as big an advantage as people think. What we are mainly looking for is the best overall venue and experience for the teams."
Friday, Peoria kicks off its 10th year as host, an effort Hickman described as "above and beyond the call."
The Illinois basketball team's success this season, on the other hand, no doubt has boosted the university's commitment to reclaiming March Madness.
Illini coach Bruce Weber has repeatedly said he wants the tournament in Assembly Hall because it would help his recruiting.
"I think the community feels that boys high school basketball positively should be here on the home court of the No. 1 team in the nation and that high school boys across the state would love to play on the same court," Oney said. "Peoria has done a great job and they are good people, but the community feels this should be the home of the boys state basketball tournament."
Champaign-Urbana will try to win March Madness back in part by playing on the event's history in Assembly Hall, but Hickman said tradition may not count for much because it's hard to quantify.
The IHSA, apparently stung by claims its bidding process in 1995 was too subjective and favored Peoria, is trying to make this year's process as objective as possible.
Under the 2005 site specifications, the IHSA could award the Class A and AA events to separate sites, something it wouldn't consider in 2000. Neither Champaign nor Peoria would figure to be happy with half a loaf, and considering the logistical difficulties involved, it seems doubtful the IHSA would go this route.
No town wants to disclose its bid in advance, but Western said Peoria has sweetened its economic package this time. He admitted that Illinois' 29-1 season has made him a bit nervous, but Peoria also is boosting its bid with an item that focuses on using corporations' expertise to put together a leadership development program for students.
"We are getting ourselves better aligned with what the IHSA wants to do beyond the bouncing ball and making baskets at state tournaments," said Western, a Caterpillar, Inc., vice president. "There are areas of leadership development the IHSA is interested in promoting, as they should, and we want to help them achieve those goals because they are good for the youth of the state of Illinois."
This new program and the March Madness Experience could give Peoria an edge in the additional criteria category; but if the two communities' proposals are extremely comparable, Hickman said, the IHSA board might seek additional input from member schools through an advisory survey.
The tradition of the Elite Eight at Assembly Hall still has a strong emotional pull throughout the state, so a survey might favor Champaign-Urbana. If the bids are that close, though, the IHSA should skip the survey and keep March Madness where it is.
It took a knockout bid for Peoria to get the tournament in the first place. Organizers have delivered on the promises they made then and should keep March Madness unless Champaign can deliver a knockout punch of its own.
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