Schools tip off new classic

For many spectators, the event was their first time in the Chevrolet Centre.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's been shown that the Chevrolet Centre can bring in the crowds for hockey, but Saturday it was high school basketball fans filling the seats.
Eight high school basketball teams played four games at the center as part of the Youngstown-Warren Holiday Basketball Classic. A series of junior high school games were played earlier in the day.
A modest crowd of students, parents and fans from the participating schools lined both sides of the arena. The crowd grew as the games went on, with the faces in the audience changing simultaneously with the jerseys on the court.
Matt Hufnagel, director of sales and marketing for the center, said he was pleased with the turnout. He said the classic was a first for basketball at the center, so organizers could not be certain what the community response would be.
"You kind of just hope for the best and go with it, but this has turned out to be very good," he said.
Jeff Kossow, Chevrolet Centre executive director, said the main purpose of the classic was to allow younger people to enjoy the facility. He said basketball fans can expect to see other basketball events at the center in the future. The Harlem Globetrotters, he said, will be at the center in early February.
"This is all about the kids. We want them to have fun in this building," he said. "There will be other exhibition games, like the Globetrotters, or any other time where it makes sense to do it."
Kossow said featuring high school basketball talent could become a yearly tradition at the Chevrolet Centre.
Transformation
Changing the center from a hockey arena to a basketball court, Kossow said, took some effort. This was done using a system that would protect the ice -- and a portable basketball court.
Work crews took down the thick plastic window surrounding the rink, turned down the refrigeration system, placed insulated ice decking on top of the ice and assembled the basketball court and hoops. The court, which is broken down into 4-by-8-foot sections, will be stored under the arena seats when not in use.
The court was purchased from Wright State University for about $10,000. The Wright State name is still written across the floor, but the lettering will be replaced and a new finish put on the floor in the near future.
New visitors
Any hard work that went into getting the arena ready for the Holiday Classic will likely pay off in exposure for the Chevrolet Centre. Several people in attendance Saturday were seeing the building for the first time.
Frank Crea and his daughter Paula DiFiore, both of Hubbard, came out to watch Warren John F. Kennedy High School take the court. They were just as taken by the building as the action on the court.
"We are here because we are longtime Kennedy fans and wanted to see the arena. It is a beautiful place, and I will be back," Crea said. "We want to come to hockey games now. It does Youngstown good to have a facility like this."
John and Renee Simon of Austintown came to watch their daughter cheer for Cardinal Mooney High School. Though not hockey fans, they both said the center is an enjoyable facility and they would likely return for other events in the future. The Simons had not visited the center before Saturday.
"It is very nice to have something like this in Youngstown," said Renee Simon. "This is a wonderful facility."
Bernard Codjoe, and Denise and Robin Bell, all of Youngstown, did not come out to watch any particular person or game. The trio said their trip to the Chevrolet Centre was in the interest of basketball and seeing the facility. All three plan return trips for either hockey games or concerts.
Other teams playing Saturday at the center were The Rayen School, Wilson, Chaney, Ursuline and Western Reserve Academy. All but Western Reserve are in the Steel Valley Conference.
jgoodwin@vindy.com