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CIF State Games Should Be Held at Haas Every Year!

Feb 28, 2015
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That was a great atmosphere and it's more centrally located in the state than Sacramento, allowing more fans to make the trip as well as providing a larger local market of fans to see what top level high school basketball is all about.

It's cool for kids to play in an NBA arena, but too often the arena is so empty that it has an odd feel to it. Haas filled up and was electric.

Also, Mike Montgomery should be pushing hard to make this happen every year because it's such a great showcase for Cal's facilities and program - makes them more relevant for all the top players and coaches. That's the kind of program visibility that you can't put a price on.
 
well I don't think Montgomery would care since he's gone

but regarding the main point, if I were the SoCal sections I wouldn't say games should be up here every year, that's not fair
 
I am with you on having the event played at Haas. It was electric in stretches and that is never the case in Sac.
I think it would be best to alternate the venues with north one year and south the next but I would hope that CIF would realize what a goldmine this weekend experience was!
 
Going back to Sleep Train would suck. The crowds and atmosphere were 100% better at Haas. It needs to stay at Haas.
 
I think the majority of Bay Area fans would love to have the state finals at Haas, Maples, Oracle. It used to be at the then Oakland Coliseum back in the early 90s. Im sure the So Cal fans would want it down in LA at either the Forum, Pauley or even the newer Galen Center. And the San Joaquin/Sac fans would just want it to be kept at Arco/Sleep Train.

The finals this year created a very close/electric atmosphere that most years in Sacramento did not. Of course it helped to have thrilling competitive games instead of So Cal blowouts.

In the end the big heads of the CIF will listen to where the most money making opportunity is. They cannot ignore the turnout this year in comparison to the years in Sac. I would love for the games to continue at Cal every year as it is long, boring drive to Sacramento.
 
The problem with Sac Town is that it's really not drivable from SoCal. Those extra 2-3 hours each way are a killer. So you're basically having the championships in the middle of nowhere -- it makes no sense.

If you look at a map of California, Berkeley is about as centrally located as you can get, and it's a great facility/atmosphere for kids and fans.
 
LA to Sacramento 385 miles

LA to Berkeley 375 miles

No difference in travel time Sac is a straight shot on I-5
 
Let's not debate this. Arco= Dump. No atmosphere at all. HAAS- great atmosphere. Smaller venue and closer to more people so crowds will be better. Even the new arena in Sac wont' be as good.

Lets ask Ben Braun what he thinks? Oh wait… He's gone.
 
Not disagreeing that arco is awful but a huge part of the crowd was there to see O'dowd in the open. UC Davis would be a great site.
 
I think they should rotate the site between a Southern California and cal. Those were basically home games for a lot of the local teams. SRV's fans had the place rocking the night before too. It is a huge home court advantage. Do teams fly up or do they drive?
 
Teams are allowed by the CIF to come up the day before they play and stay at a hotel, but leave after their game and head home. Seems rough if you play at the end of the day to have to drive all night. Most teams take charter busses, the CIF pays for them but not to fly. I am not sure if a school has the option to fly if they are willing to pay the costs.

I know when we played in the state finals, we played on a Friday night at 8 pm, and our opponent drove up on Thursday and were leaving immediately after the game to head back to southern ca.
 
One big difference I noticed about the games at HAAS was the shooting. Teams struggle shooting the ball at Arco but it seemed like players were more comfortable shooting in a college gym. It made the games much more exciting.
 
As mentioned before, the miles distance from LA to Sac and LA to Cal is roughly the same distance, It may appear shorter without conceptualizing it, but in reality there is an extra 60-75 minute drive when you go from the 5 over to 580 towards the Bay Area. Going to Sac is just a straight line on the 5 from LA.

I like the idea of having a home court advantage against the usually stronger So Cal teams. It can be an equalizer to have a rowdy crowd in the No Cal team's favor. Strangely I think I saw way more Mater Dei fans last year at Arco than this year at Haas.
 
With all the money the CIF is making from the games, they should fly teams (southwest) to the game and pay for the hotel for the night before and after. MD having to get on a bus at 11:30 pm to ride for 6 hours is inexcusable.

Where is all the new TV money going? Why does the ticket price continue to increase?
 
Same for the football teams in December having to get on buses right after their games. Just not right especially for the team playing in the last game of the night.
 
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