By Adam Roberts – 2/1/2021
The news first broke on Friday evening that the La Crosse Center, fresh off hosting a full-day of high school basketball at the Midwest Players Classic, would be getting another big prep basketball event on its floor in about a month with three WIAA basketball divisions making the Coulee Region their state championship home this year.
Center Director Art Fahey was on The Sports Lead last Friday to help break down the news, and says that while we still don’t know which division will be playing at the Center, it will be three of the five. “My understanding is one venue will get three division…we are targeted to get three divisions, and it will be for both they boys’ and girls’ tournaments.”
As for how the tournaments will be run and how many people will be admitted, Fahey said the biggest hurdle was securing clearance from the La Crosse County Health Department given their COVID protocols. “We became as a building a thing called GBAC certified, which means Global Biorisk Accreditation. It’s the golden standard for venues like ours for sanitation…[as for all the protocols] we’ve got all those things in placewe’ve got a lot of work to do, but we’re confident we can do it and provide a safe and great environment for the tournament”.
Fahey said 1,000 people will be admitted to the facility that can handle about 6,000 for basketball.