FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2006
FHSAA girls, boys basketball finals to remain in Lakeland
GAINESVILLE – Lakeland it is! The Florida High School Athletic Association announced today that the FHSAA Girls Basketball Finals and FHSAA Boys Basketball Finals state championship tournaments will remain at The Lakeland Center for the next three years.
The FHSAA received two proposals for the events.
Polk County Sports Marketing, The Lakeland Center and the Lakeland Organizing Committee submitted a proposal to serve as hosts for both the girls finals and boys finals on behalf of the City of Lakeland and Polk County. The Central Florida Sports Commission and the City of Orlando, meanwhile, submitted a proposal to serve as hosts for the boys finals only at the TD Waterhouse Centre.
"We had two outstanding proposals for the tournaments from which to choose," FHSAA Commissioner John A. Stewart said. "But Lakeland had an advantage in that they continued to offer their facility for both the girls and boys finals. We are pleased to renew our relationship for these events with them."
Said Mike LaPan, Director of The Lakeland Center: "The Lakeland Center has a long and successful history of hosting the girls and boys basketball finals. We look forward to the opportunity to build the event for the FHSAA and our community. Our interest is to grow the partnership well into the future and have Lakeland become the recognized destination for the student-athletes to strive for as they compete for a coveted state title."
The Lakeland Center's George Jenkins Arena has served as the venue for the girls finals since 1994 and the boys finals since 1996. Neither event had been made available for bid to other cities during that time. The FHSAA this year, however, decided to seek proposals from other parties interested in the events because of the Association's concerns about the conditions of the arena.
"While George Jenkins Arena is the perfect size for these events, it is showing its age," Stewart said. "We expressed those concerns in private meetings with Lakeland representatives as well as publicly in the media. Lakeland, as part of its proposal, has responded to our concerns and has shared with us plans to provide the arena with a much-needed facelift."
Stewart expressed the Association's gratitude to the Central Florida Sports Commission and the City of Orlando for their interest in the boys tournament as well.
"We understand that they faced some problems in securing a facility for the girls finals and, because of that, were only able to submit a proposal for the boys finals," Stewart said. "That provided the Association with some challenges that we just simply weren't prepared to take on at this time. Through this process, however, we have begun a dialogue with John Saboor, executive director of the Central Florida Sports Commission, that is going to lead to new and exciting opportunities for the FHSAA in Central Florida. It is simply a matter of time, and I mean sooner rather than later, until the Orlando area is awarded a major FHSAA Finals state championship event."
The three-year agreement with Lakeland will keep the girls finals and boys finals at The Lakeland Center through the 2008-09 basketball season. The Lakeland Center currently is also the venue for the FHSAA Girls Volleyball Finals and FHSAA Wrestling Finals.
About the FHSAA
The Florida High School Athletic Association is the governing body for interscholastic athletic competition in Florida. It has a membership of more than 740 middle, junior and senior high schools.
Contact:
Jack Watford
Director of Communications, FHSAA
(352) 372-9551 ext. 170
jwatford@fhsaa.org
