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Surely something could be done about these two problems that continue to go unresolved.

The poor view from all seats , other than the first two rows cause crazy competition for the unobstructed seats.

It does no good to get in line super early before the doors open because people come in the back door, (usually parents) and try to save seats for their friends. This is when the animosity usually begins... I see arguments and near fist fights every year because of this.

Archer doesn't seem to care that people sneak in and are perched in the good seats before the freakin doors ever open. Imagine standing in line for an hour or more to get an unobstructed view of all mats and upon running in there you find parents, wrestlers and good ol boys already in there!
It's a problem every year, for every round and no one gives a crap.
I suggest that a wvssac employee go up
In the stands and just see what it's like up there.
Or maybe Archer himself.
Please let's move this to a venue that is amenable to wrestling and truly cares about the fan experience.
My opinion in no way reflects that of wvmat, WVSSAC, sponsers or moderators.
Before my comments get deleted and they certainly will: just imagine paying to see a basketball or football game in which 30 % of the court or field is obstructed for 80-90 % of fans !!!???How long would an issue like that exist???? Not long!
But wrestling fans deal with this issue every year at The State Tournament .

There are only 2 venues in this state that would work better and 1 of those will never happen. That leaves the Charleston civic center but Charleston never makes a bid to host. We are stuck with the big Sandy arena and will have to make do with the best we have available In Huntington.

Well then why are so many people "allowed" n
before the doors even open???? Are we " stuck with that" too?

I assume the other is Wheeling. Why will Wheeling never happen?

Sell the seats in advance ! After all they are numbered!! Charge more for the lower level
Seats. Boom problem solved. And make the good seats available to everyone for purchase in
Advance ... Not just " the special people who know someone "...

What happened to the elevated platform that they used to wrestle the finals on? That's always been a staple of the WV high school state finals. Sad that it's gone.

aaacoach33 wrote:I assume the other is Wheeling. Why will Wheeling never happen?

The other I was speaking of is in Morgantown, Wheeling actually would work better than the Big Sandy but does not have enough seating IMO.

I attended the OVACs at Wheeling this year and the first thing I said when we walked in was how much nicer it was than Huntington. Plus they have one of this big four-sided LED screens hanging from the ceiling where they broadcast matches to, so you can see the wrestling there even if you are not in the perfect seat.

The state tournament is a 3-4 day grind for the wrestlers, the parents, the coaches and the fans.

Charleston is not a better option. In Huntington, there are more places to go eat and hang out within walking distance of the civic center. Charleston doesn't have that.

Wheeling is less centrally located for all schools as opposed to Huntington.

I have never experienced a parking issue or a seat issue when I attend in Huntington.

The biggest problem with obstructed views is when the casual fan stands up and talks to a "passerby".

Once a person's kid or grandchild is done, they don't care about anything else until he wrestles again. This is a bigger problem.

Or...............people bring their whole family and then let the small children run loose.

I recall people complaining about this last season. Pretty soon it will be Coach Archer's fault the toilet was clogged.

I agree Charleston is not ready to hold the state tournament but I believe by 2018 it may.

http://m.charlestonwvciviccenter.com/p. ... about/227&

The updates to the civic center will be interesting and there are places to eat in the mall across the street and on capital st two blocks over. Hotels close and with in driving distance if you wanna price shop.
But I'm not sure who could run it as well as Mr. Archer and crue. I believe they do a fine job and the live updated brackets and live feed was smooth for me .

This is nothing against anyone (sure is a lot of hard work for this tourney) but other sport state tourneys are done in Charleston and the fans have plenty to do and places to stay. This state wrestling tourney really needs to relocate or come up with a solution as to not being able to see the mats.
Why not Charleston,Wheeling or Morgantown? Wrestling is too intense not to see the mats.

wvgymrott wrote:I agree Charleston is not ready to hold the state tournament but I believe by 2018 it may.

http://m.charlestonwvciviccenter.com/p. ... about/227&

The updates to the civic center will be interesting and there are places to eat in the mall across the street and on capital st two blocks over. Hotels close and with in driving distance if you wanna price shop.
But I'm not sure who could run it as well as Mr. Archer and crue. I believe they do a fine job and the live updated brackets and live feed was smooth for me .

I guess the town center would be close enough.

However, wrestling in Kanawha county has become a struggling embarrassment compared to years ago. There seems to be more people fighting the fight now to restore things somewhat.

I would be interested in who could assemble a crew to do it. My worst "spectator" experience in the 2015/2016 season was in Kanawha County.

I look at bearhugger and gators blogs and feel they have best interest for the sport and the athletes, maybe you two can come up with solution. Anyway of of using four mats vs eight for states and add some wrestling for the first night and second day? Just asking? I get aggravated and frustrated at Big Sandy not being able to see the mats. Think a lot of Coach Archer and by no means is this at him. Wheeling is ideal for spectators but not sure of central location and capacity.

I think it would be great if we could have it in the Coliseum at WVU. Show off the University, attach the state to the WVU wrestling program. This is what many states do and it is a boost for the University. However, there are issues that would have to be overcome. For example, there is some doubt about the ability to get 8 mats in there. Thus, there would have to be a split of the early sessions. For example, have the AA in the morning and AAA in the afternoon evening. PA splits its state tournament the whole way through. Then bring the divisions together for the final days when less mats are needed.
I kinda doubt the WVU brass would go for it, but there would be some grandeur for the wrestlers to be grappling in the state's premier venue.

Playing off of Bucktail's comment, (I know this won't be a super popular idea) why not split the AAA and AA/A tournaments and have one at Big Sandy and the other at Wheeling or Morgantown and then the next year flip flop it. So one year we would have AAA at Huntington and AA/A at WVU or Wheeling and the next year AA/A at Huntington and AAA at WVU or Wheeling.

Regarding the "Huntington is centrally located" idea (I have heard many people say this)...have you looked at a map of WV? Huntington is only convenient to the Huntington/Charleston area. It is a 2.5-3 hour drive from the southeast part of the state (where East, West, Indy and Woodrow are located), it is a 4+ hour drive from the northern panhandle (where Wheeling Park, John Marshall, Cameron and Brooke are) and it is 5.5 hours from the eastern panhandle (where Hedgesville, Berkley Springs and Hampshire are).

I dont know any other program that is willing to run the state tournament. I think Huntington does a good job at it. There is alot of work that go's on from set up to tear down feeding over 200 coaches for three days, running the bouts table workers almost all volenteers./ I would love to see it in Charleston but I can not think of one team that could or would host it. Wheeling, well just like football nobody but the northern panhandle want's to go there. Went there for football had to give my money to Ohio to find a place to stay and eat.

Bottom line it is unacceptable to not be able to see the mats from the stands.Don't think wvssac cares about it. As long as they get their money they don't care. Remember when they had the wrong awards a few years ago that they never fixed.

Remember when they had the wrong awards a few years ago that they never fixed.

It took a year and a few emails, but my teams awards were finally corrected.

I remember several years ago the Eastern Workds was held in charleston. One of the complaints I heard were the outrageous hotel rates area hotels had.

Yeah $170 a night at holiday Inn is a deal.

Coach 82. I don't think that you researched your overnight stay in Wheeling. There are 6 national chain motels at the Highlands alone. As for eating, there are several great places to eat at the Highlands. Perhaps it was just closer for you to stay in Ohio. Don't be too quick to sell Wheeling short. Just ask Gator, he never missed a meal in Wheeling ,ha ha.

Good one Soupbone! I've been to state tournaments at both venues and I really don't have a problem with either location. Both places have plenty of hotels and restaurants. Coach Archer runs a good tournament and I don't have a preference in location. I know it takes an army to run a state tournament. I couldn't do it and admire anyone who does.

soupbone wrote:Coach 82. I don't think that you researched your overnight stay in Wheeling. There are 6 national chain motels at the Highlands alone. As for eating, there are several great places to eat at the Highlands. Perhaps it was just closer for you to stay in Ohio. Don't be too quick to sell Wheeling short. Just ask Gator, he never missed a meal in Wheeling ,ha ha.

I agree 100%. The Highlands has actually gotten even more desirable. They just opened a Texas Roadhouse a few weeks ago and a Primanti Brothers a little farther back. They also have 5 Guys, Olive Garden, Quaker Steak and Lube, Fusion Japanese Hibachi, Cheddar's, Applebee's, Bob Evans, Logan's and Eat n Park. Plus downtown Wheeling has several good places to eat like TJs and Figaretti's Italian plus a few out of the way spots like Ye Old Alpha and Coleman's Fish Market. I have been to Huntington for states and WSAZs quite a few times over the last decade and I don't think the restaurant options in Huntington come close to what Wheeling has to offer.

I thought people went to watch wrestling I guess they go to eat.

In my opinion, If more fans expressed their frustration about the problems with the States in Huntington then maybe some things that could change just might.
I think the powers that be have had control of the tourney for so long that complacency has set in.