COLUMBIA – The Missouri State High School Activities Association announced Monday that its Girls Volleyball State Championships will move to Kansas City’s historic Municipal Auditorium, beginning in November 2008.
The 33-year-old state tournament has been held exclusively on the campus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg since 1988. Dates for the MSHSAA Volleyball Championships through the terms of the new agreement are: November 7-8, 2008; November 6-7, 2009; and November 5-6, 2010.
“We’re working hard to expand what we can offer at our state championships, and the Association is very excited about taking our Volleyball Championships to the next level,” said MSHSAA Executive Director Dr. Kerwin Urhahn. “Central Missouri has been a phenomenal host of this event for 20 seasons, and we’re very grateful for its role in helping the volleyball tournament grow and develop into what it is.”
Municipal Auditorium, which is surrounded by 13th, 14th, Wyandotte and Central streets in downtown Kansas City, is within walking distance of numerous hotel, dining and entertainment opportunities, including the new Kansas City Live experience in the Power and Light District.
“The fans and students are going to love the convenience of the new venue and all the amenities of downtown Kansas City,” said Urhahn. “They will be able to drive in, park once, and walk to the arena and restaurants directly from their hotel. When they enter Municipal Auditorium, they will experience a first-class venue with the right combination of history and modern amenities. The arena itself will be used only for competition, so spectators can rightfully focus on the matches in progress while all the warm-ups will take place backstage.”
Municipal Auditorium’s arena features 7,300 permanent upholstered seats and recently underwent a $3.5 million renovation project that included HID sports lighting, Yamaha sound system and Daktronics scoring system as well as seating and locker room upgrades. The facility also includes meeting and convention space that will accommodate pre-tournament coaches and officials meetings, media operations, tournament warm-up courts and team pregame areas.
The tournament’s format will remain the same, featuring two competition courts for Friday’s round-robin semifinals and one playing court for Saturday’s championship and third-place matches. All told, 24 matches are played on Friday to determine the matchups for Saturday’s four third-place and four championship matches. Sixteen teams -- four teams in each of the MSHSAA’s four volleyball classifications -- advance to the state tournament each year.
“We’re very pleased to make this announcement, and we’re thrilled to bring a championship event to Kansas City,” said Urhahn. “The I think the volleyball community in our state will share in our enthusiasm when they see how the Kansas City Sports Commission and Kansas City Convention & Entertainment Centers have worked to make this possible and how welcoming the city will be for the Volleyball Championships.”
Constructed in 1936 and famous for its art deco, Municipal Auditorium has a 92-foot ceiling in the main arena which has a playing floor measuring 130 by 220 feet with no pillars or posts to obstruct spectators’ view. The facility has hosted more NCAA Final Fours than any other venue and has been home to the NAIA National Basketball Tournament for more than 40 years.
The MSHSAA Volleyball Championships were held at Hickman Mills High School in the Kansas City area five times during the 1980’s, most recently in 1987, and a portion of the tournament was also held at Kansas City’s Avila College in 1980. The only other championship-level MSHSAA event to be held in Kansas City in recent years was the Show-Me Bowl which was played at Arrowhead Stadium three times between 1982 and 1986.
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