Thoughts on the switch from Merrillville to East Chicago:
PRO's
1. Guarantee of having a seat at anytime of the day/evening when you walked in.
2. The overall layout of tournment; building, easy access to concessions, bathrooms, programs, tickets, etc.
3. Efficiency of the way the tournament was run, and the professionalism of the staff. Everyone "volunteering" was extremely polite and accommodating.
4. Allowing wrestlers to have a designated space to warm up, thus not having to walk over wrestlers or cramped in-between while in transit to designation.
Areas of Improvement
1. Sound system - I noticed when the gentlemen sang the National Anthem you could hear him clearly as he was standing in the center of the mat. However all throughout the day, (not just the finals) it was very difficult to decipher what was being said from the announcement table over the speakers.
2. In agreement with the previous post about rolling out the other side bleachers that was not rolled out. In the 1st and 2nd round (when the most spectators were present) you could not see about a 1/3rd of the two mats no matter which side you were on. There is no reason for all 4 to be rolled out, but possibly tuck away one of the sections that were both rolled out across from one another.
3. Parking lot space was at a minimum. I know not much can done about this, except maybe some signs that says something to the effect of overflow parking on streets is authorized. When we parked in front of peoples homes we were unsure if it was an issue or not.
4. Being as there is very little intermission time (which I like, as I'm sure most do), would it be possible to maybe have Zel's make X amount of Roast Beef sandwiches to either take replace Pizza or Hot Dogs. Maybe I'm alone but overall I just feel like this is a heartier choice while at a tournament for 10 hours. I feel that it would add a little uniqueness to this venue.
I hope this feed back that I am posting is beneficial, there is no way to please everyone including myself, just laying some ideas out there. I would have to say after complaining about Merrillville venue for the past 10+ years, there is a huge part of me that misses it. And that came when it was time for the finals, the distance and the spot light from a spectator point of view took something out of the equation. With that being said for me its literally six one way and half-dozen the other.
In closing another great day of Wrestling, and a Thank you to all that gave up there Saturday to put this Semi-State together and to make sure it ran smoothly.