Who was seen in less-than-ideal seats March 11 when Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs drew perhaps the biggest crowd in its history?
It was Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his entourage, watching with some 7,000 other people at the venue at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The occasion was Bentonville’s basketball clash with Cabot’s boys in the Centennial Bank High School Championship Game.
Fans filled every seat in the 6,300-capacity arena and jammed the floor ramp areas at the corners of the court. Others crowded around closed-circuit TVs in the concession area. Many turned out to see Bentonville’s Malik Monk, the state’s top college prospect, who has signed with Kentucky and was playing his last high school game.
But the governor had his eyes on another player, Monk’s teammate Asa Hutchinson IV, a 6-6 sophomore forward who also happens to be the governor’s grandson.
A big crowd from the day’s previous games hung around, and ticket sales had to be halted two hours before tipoff. Some fans with advance tickets were turned away, and heated words were exchanged. Fire marshals considered clearing the arena. That didn’t happen, and the spectacle of the governor being ushered out was avoided.
No Change of Venue
Hutchinson’s dozen seats may not have been at midcourt, but he was lucky to have them. His grandson was disappointed, though, as Cabot’s Panthers ruled the fourth quarter and upset the Tigers 59-49.
Fans naturally wondered why the tournament isn’t played in a bigger arena, but the answer isn’t simple. The Arkansas Activities Association, the governing body for high school sports, wants the tournament played in central Arkansas for fairness’ sake. That rules out two bigger arenas in corners of the state — Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville and the A-State Convocation Center in Jonesboro. Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, which seats 18,000, doesn’t really want high school events that charge an $8 admission when concerts and other events command ticket prices in the hundreds of dollars and offer the opportunity to sell liquor.
When the state tournament venue contract was last open, Verizon Arena’s bid was uncompetitive. The Pine Bluff Convention Center arena is dilapidated and perhaps inoperable, and aged Barton Coliseum in Little Rock, which served as a fill-in site a few years ago, has been described by the Activities Association as more fit for a rodeo than basketball.
In any case, the site won’t be up for debate for a while. The contract the AAA renewed with Hot Springs last year calls for the tournament to remain at Bank of the Ozarks Arena, formerly known as Summit Arena, through 2021.
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