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Friday, April 12, 2024 | 8:14 PM
Hershey's Giant Center has hosted the state high school basketball finals for more than a decade, but could or should the PIAA championship be held elsewhere?
As it does every four years, the PIAA is accepting bids from basketball arenas in the state interested in hosting the championship game from 2025 to 2028. There was a time a few decades ago when the finals bounced from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia and cities in between. But with the exception of a six-year stint at Penn State, Hershey has been their home since 1980.
PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi, who was watching this year's final at the Giant Center, said it's too early to say where next year's championship will be held. But Lombardi said he believes being located in the middle of the state is still the best option.
If that happens, it looks like the finals will remain in Hershey.
“If you go too far west or too far east, you can be sure that the majority of the teams (in the finals) will come from the opposite area,” Lombardi said. “The traditional East and West (brackets) do not exist in some classifications, making classification even more complex.”
Venues wishing to host the event must submit bids by May 1st.
The last time a basketball championship game was played at a location other than Hershey University and State College was in 1979, when Civic Arena hosted six championship games. Pittsburgh occasionally hosted games dating back to his 1930s, when they were held in the pavilion at Pitt Stadium.
At that time, the state finals were held annually at gyms across the state. In fact, Newcastle was where he hosted the men's final between Clarion and Jim Thorpe in 1962.
Lombardi said he's not interested in the idea of spreading the game across the state.
“We did it years ago and it didn't work out,” he said. “It seems to be most effective to have it in as central a location as possible.”
Currently, very few venues make bids to organizers.
In 2020, the PIAA received one from Duquesne to host games in Western Pennsylvania in partnership with the tourism nonprofit VisitPittsburgh. Four years ago, Visit Pittsburgh submitted a bid with Pitt to host the game at the Petersen Event Center. In each case, PIAA selected the bidder from Hershey Entertainment, which operates Giant Center.
A VisitPittsburgh spokesperson said the organization is reviewing the PIAA's latest request for bids.
The PIAA sent a request in late March to a statewide group of venues, including Duquesne, Pitt, Robert Morris and IUP. Also on the list were the Giant Center and Penn State Bryce Jordan Center, the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, and numerous arenas near Philadelphia.
The PIAA is also collecting bids to host wrestling, competitive spirit, swimming and diving championships. But they may also remain in place. Enjoy wrestling and competitive spirit at the Giant Center and swimming at Bucknell. The site will be finalized at the PIAA board meeting in May.
The PIAA made a major change two years ago, moving the football championship game from Hersheypark Stadium to Cumberland Valley High School. Lombardi said he hasn't heard any such talk regarding basketball.
“I haven’t heard any early conversations from anyone who wants to do something (unexpected) with basketball,” he said. “Maybe someone will bid on it, but I don't know.”
Lombardi emphasized that the PIAA is pleased with the Giant Center, a 10,500-seat arena that is home to a minor league hockey team. This arena has hosted state finals since 2003, except for his six years at Penn State from 2007 to 2012.
The number of attendees for this year's final was 19,167. That's about 1,000 fewer people than the previous year, but Lombardi said he's still satisfied. The schedule included 12 games over three days.
“We're always calculating if we can average about 6,000 people a day, and that's OK,” Lombardi said. “Especially this time of year, we have the NCAA Basketball Tournament, the NCAA Wrestling Tournament, and spring sports are starting.”
The PIAA Basketball Finals drew more than 30,000 spectators annually at the Giant Center's peak in the early 2000s. Lombardi said times have changed, including how fans watch the state finals.
“We’re on TV across the state and we’re also web streaming,” he said. “We have a lot of irons to give people access that they didn't have 20 years ago.”
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the tribe in 2009 after working as a reporter for the Beaver County Times for seven years. Contact him at charlan@triblive.com.