Enjoyed the Class 2 and 3 quarterfinal games at Lee's Summit HS this past weekend. Good games and great efforts by all of the teams.
But I did not like the site of the games. The past few years, I greatly enjoyed attending these games at the Independence Events Center. I have told dozens of people what a great venue it is for HS playoff games- great location, parking, ease of access, great sight lines, seat-back chairs with cup holders, no waiting at the concessions or bathrooms. There is likely no more ideal place to hold games of this magnitude.
None of these amenities are applicable to the new site. I am in no way criticizing LSHS as a nice venue for regular season games. But for the quarterfinals, it was nothing like the Events Center. Not enough seating, old wooden bleachers, 2 people working the concessions (they were hustling, though!), very inadequate restroom facilities. Teams had to wait to begin pre-game warm-ups because there were people all over the court from the previous game. The movement of people in/out of the facility in between games was a mess. I understand that the decision on sites is probably mostly financial, but I hope no quarterfinal games are hosted there in the future. There are many, many better facilities in the general KC/NW MO vicinity- assuming, of course, that any other venues turned in proposals to host.
This post was edited on 3/11 9:57 AM by Rufus R. Jones
But I did not like the site of the games. The past few years, I greatly enjoyed attending these games at the Independence Events Center. I have told dozens of people what a great venue it is for HS playoff games- great location, parking, ease of access, great sight lines, seat-back chairs with cup holders, no waiting at the concessions or bathrooms. There is likely no more ideal place to hold games of this magnitude.
None of these amenities are applicable to the new site. I am in no way criticizing LSHS as a nice venue for regular season games. But for the quarterfinals, it was nothing like the Events Center. Not enough seating, old wooden bleachers, 2 people working the concessions (they were hustling, though!), very inadequate restroom facilities. Teams had to wait to begin pre-game warm-ups because there were people all over the court from the previous game. The movement of people in/out of the facility in between games was a mess. I understand that the decision on sites is probably mostly financial, but I hope no quarterfinal games are hosted there in the future. There are many, many better facilities in the general KC/NW MO vicinity- assuming, of course, that any other venues turned in proposals to host.
This post was edited on 3/11 9:57 AM by Rufus R. Jones
