LAUREL COUNTY, Ky. — The marriage between The Arena and the 13th Region Boys and Girls   Basketball Tournaments appears to be ending at least for the 2012-2013 season, as Kentucky High School Athletic Association Commissioner Julian Tackett confirmed Friday Harlan High School will be host of both tournaments next March.

“Four years ago, we talked about how The (Corbin) Arena would be a great choice to host both tournaments and it turned out to be an excellent choice, but we also said if a time came that a comparable facility was built meeting the conditions that needed to be met, we could move it to another facility and now we have that in Harlan County High School’s gym,” he said. “You always really want to play the tournaments at a high school and we feel like it will be a success at Harlan County.”

Tackett also stated in a letter sent to 13th Region Policy Board Chairman Larry Warren that, “At the time of the decisions regarding the tournament, the building and final plans for the new school in Harlan County were only in progress. At this point in time, the school is complete, and has successfully hosted the 52nd District Tournament in a similar format to the doubleheaders, etc. that would occur in regions. I have also personally been involved in a site inspection of the facility and reviewed with school personnel,  yourself, and other region representatives, the logistics and arrangements were the tournament to be held at the new Harlan County gymnasium. In addition, we must note that this facility was also built by and to benefit, the general public through school dollars, and there is an obligation when such construction is done to allow their utilization for events for public good.

“After completing this review, it is clear that the new gym at Harlan County meets all of the specifications that were desired when the tournament was awarded originally to the new civic center in Corbin as detailed above. 2013 is also the time in the rotation when the schools of the 52nd District would recommend the site to this office,” Tackett added.

Warren said in the agreement with The Arena, each school in the 13th Region had an agreement of $1,500 and Tackett cautioned Harlan County would need to match the amount.

“Provided that the representatives of the 52nd District are able to solicit and guarantee the revenue to the member schools, it is my intention to assign the regional basketball tournament for 2013 to Harlan County High School,” he said.

“That’s a big if, though,” he added. “That’s a lot of money to raise. They are going to have to match what The (Corbin) Arena was doing. I’ve got a feeling there will be no problems. We’re going to keep in contact with Harlan County High School and see how things are going because obviously there might come a time The (Corbin) Arena will be booked. If necessary, we will have a hard deadline — we would need to know something I’m sure by December. Myself and Larry Warren will also keep in touch.”

Warren said he went with Tackett to check out the Harlan County High School gym (seats 3,670 according to the high school directory on KHSAA.org) and was pleased with what he saw.

“Let me just tell you, I’m a hard person to impress and I was very impressed,” he said. “We have two venues that meet the requirement the KHSAA has and one is in Corbin and the other is in Harlan County. We are going to stay in touch with people at The Arena and I feel like the region tournaments will be back at The Arena the next several years. It is a splendid place to host a regional tournament. It has comfortable seating and great parking.”

The Arena has been host of both the 13th Region Boys and Girls Tournaments the past three years and Connie Hunt, general manager of The Arena, admitted she hated to lose the regional tournaments next season, but didn’t rule out The Arena hosting them in the future.

“We’re disappointed we’re not going to be the host next year,” she said. “We feel like it has always been an honor to host it. I don’t think we did anything wrong and as far as I know, from the feedback I have received, everything has been positive.

“I am glad that we were contacted by Mr. Warren and finding out now, so we don’t lose out on something that could possibly be booked,” Hunt added. “And as for the future of hosting the tournaments, it’s something we would be interested in. It has really be an honor to host it.”

Les Dixon is the sports editor of The Times-Tribune