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The days of the WIAA State Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center appear to be numbered.
 
Due to a scheduling conflict with the advent of hockey in the Big Ten Conference in 2013-14, the WIAA most likely will move its boys’ state basketball tournament from the Kohl Center to another venue, beginning in March of 2014.
 
Wisconsin’s hockey program, currently a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), will move to the Big Ten Conference in the fall of 2013.
 
During the third weekend in March, the traditional time for the WIAA State Tournament, the Kohl Center will be reserved for the Badgers’ hockey program, which could host games in the Big Ten Tournament.  
 
The WIAA Board of Control received an official proposal today from PMI Entertainment Group representing the Resch Center in Green Bay.
 
Both the University of Wisconsin Field House and the Alliant Energy Center in Madison are also possible alternatives to the Kohl Center, which has hosted the boys’ state tournament since 1998.

The U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee could also potentially host the WIAA State Tournament. The U.S. Cellular Arena, then known as the Milwaukee Arena, hosted the old WISAA State Tournament for many years.
 
“I’m taken aback by this hearing it for the first time,” Brookfield Central coach Mark Adams said. “The Field House is the first thing that comes to my mind. Madison is a great location for the state tournament. There are a lot of things accessible to you if you do take a team to Madison in terms of practice times and hotels and things like that.
 
“They have played the (Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association) All-Star game in the Field House so it’s kind of neat to go back there. I went to state-tournament games at the Field house when I was a kid so there is a lot of tradition there. I just can’t imagine the state tournament any where else but Madison.”  
 
Prior to 1998, the WIAA State Tournament was held at the Field House, which can seat more than 10,000 for basketball and has undergone some improvements in recent years. Restroom and concession stand areas, in particular, are better at the Field House than they were in 1998 when the event moved to the Kohl Center.

"I went to the Field House as a young kid growing up and that atmosphere is great for the state tournament," Germantown coach Steve Showalter said.

"At the same time, for a high school state tournament, the U.S. Cellular Arena would be a nice venue. The more people you can get watching high school basketball, the more exciting it is. Getting into a little smaller area where it seems like their are more people, instead of having them spread out so much, is important."

Whitefish Bay Dominican coach Paul Wollersheim agrees with Showalter.
 
“The discussion last year revolved around the girls’ state basketball tournament and moving it back to its traditional weekend just before the boys’ tournament and playing it at the Field House,” Wollersheim said. “The Field House is fine with me, too. It’s a great place with a lot of tradition.
 
“The pregame video stuff the WIAA has done on championship Saturday at the Kohl Center is really a highlight for the kids, and that would be available at the Resch Center. But to be truthful, I just want to play at the state tournament, no matter where it is held.”