Written by Kenton Hornbeck, LINK nky reporter
More post-season basketball in Northern Kentucky? It’s just what the doctor ordered for local basketball fanatics.
The 2022 KHSAA 10th Region Tournament will officially be held at the illustrious David M. Evans Fieldhouse on the campus of Holmes High School in Covington.
“It did not come as a surprise, as it had been rumored that they would be trying to select a venue close to their schools in Northern Kentucky,” Bracken County Athletic Director Daniel Fisher said.
Historically, Northern Kentucky high schools play in the 9th Region. The exceptions to this rule are Walton-Verona and Simon Kenton, who play in the 8th Region, 32nd District.
Campbell County, Scott, Bishop Brossart, and Calvary Christian play in the 10th Region, 37th District. Most 10th Region high schools are located south of Northern Kentucky. The 10th Region stretches south toward Lexington and east toward Maysville.
So how does the 10th Region Tournament end up in a 9th Region gym?
The way the 10th Region selects a host site is by rotating selection power between the 37th, 38th, 39th and 40th Districts. Traditionally the 37th, 38th, 39th Districts have selected the famous Mason County Fieldhouse to host the tournament. Since 2010, all three of these Districts have selected Mason County as the host when it was their turn to choose.
The 40th District, the southernmost district in the 10th Region, selected Montgomery County of Mt. Sterling to host three times in the past 15 years. They hosted the tournament in 2008, 2012 and 2016. George Rogers Clark of Winchester was selected in 2020 after the school district built a new multi-million dollar gym.
This season the selection power came down to the northernmost district in the 10th Region, the 37th District, which is entirely composed of Northern Kentucky schools.
The athletic directors of Campbell County, Scott, Bishop Brossart, and Calvary Christian decided that Holmes in Covington would be the logical choice to host the 10th Region Tournament due to its close proximity from their schools. Scott, in Taylor Mill, the northernmost school in the 10th Region, is approximately an hour drive to Mason County High School, where the tournament is usually hosted.
“The 10th Region allows each district to choose a site. There was nothing in the rules that said they could not choose Holmes,” Fisher said. “As far as being inconvenient to schools in the 39th, our attitude is to win and advance. If we are fortunate enough to make it to the 10th Region Tournament at Holmes, we will be happy to be there, and be happy to be playing for a regional tournament championship on a true neutral floor.”
Another key factor is the seating capacity of each 37th District gym. Campbell County, the largest school in the district by enrollment, has a gym that seats approximately 1,500 people. Their larger middle school gym seats approximately 2,000 people, but still would be too small to accommodate the large crowds brought on by the 10th Region Tournament.
The last time the 10th Region Tournament was held in Northern Kentucky was in 2009 when the Bank of Kentucky Center hosted. The arena, now named BB&T Arena, is located on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
It was unavailable as a realistic option to host this year’s 10th Region tournament due to it being previously booked by the 9th Region. BB&T Arena also requires a three-year contract at $25,000. The 10th Region was unwilling to commit to a three-year contract at that price point.
The 9th Region held their postseason tournament at NKU from 2009 to 2020. The 2021 tournament was held at Holmes.
“If Holmes is not playing in the region that night, then fans can watch some great basketball in the 10th Region,” Holmes Athletic Director Ken Ellis said.
In some ways, the 2021 9th Region Tournament gave the 37th District an example of Holmes’s potential hosting capability. According to Ellis, gate collection will go to the 10th Region. Hosting will cost $1,000 a day. That money will go towards helping Holmes cover custodial services and concession stand costs.
Photo: Holmes High School (Photo via the Covington Independent Schools website)