Trojan Arena to host 5A state basketball tourney

Trojan Arena, shown in this May 12, 2020, photo prior to its completion, will be the site of the Class 5A state basketball tournament this year. - Photo by Richard Rasmussen of The Sentinel-Record
Trojan Arena, shown in this May 12, 2020, photo prior to its completion, will be the site of the Class 5A state basketball tournament this year. - Photo by Richard Rasmussen of The Sentinel-Record

Hot Springs will be the host of the 2021 Class 5A state basketball tournament, the Arkansas Activities Association announced Friday.

The Class 5A state tournament was last held in Garland County in 2019, when Lake Hamilton served as the tournament host. Lake Hamilton was the site of the 2020 Class 1A state tournament, which was hosted by Kirby.

"We're very excited to be able to host the 5A state basketball tournament for both girls and boys," said Hot Springs athletic director Rodney Echols. "Unlike the past, we've never had the facility to host them a big time event within the state of Arkansas, and now we do. Trojan Arena, you know, holds 2,200 seats, which that's in a normal setting."

Echols said that with the completion of the new arena, the district wanted to showcase the facility.

"We're just excited because of the beautiful arena that's inside of our new Junior Academy, you know, that we'll be able to showcase to the state of Arkansas," he said. "It is very, very nice. You know, we're excited about our new Junior Academy and the arena, and that sits alongside the 1,000 seat auditorium. And we can't wait to be able to showcase that, but we just want everybody to come in and be able to see what we have new."

While the AAA has not released any plans for how the state basketball tournaments will be run, Echols said that Hot Springs will continue to follow the recommendations of the AAA and the Arkansas Department of Health.

"We're gonna follow ADH guidelines, and unless something changes, you know, we're going to be operating as we are right now," he said. "We'll be working very closely with AAA, and, you know, setting everything up and getting everything ready. And we look forward to it."

Other state basketball sites that were announced were Fayetteville (Class 6A), Morrilton (Class 4A), Clinton (Class 3A), Melbourne (Class 2A) and West Side Greers Ferry (Class 1A).

Regional sites were also announced with Ozark (North), Blytheville (East) and Star City (South) named for Class 4A, Bergman (Region 1) and Manila (Region 2) for Class 3A, Magazine (West), Melbourne (Central), Rector (North) and Caddo Hills (South) for Class 2A and Izard County (Region 2), Mt. Vernon-Enola (Region 3) and Emerson (Region 4) for Class 1A. No bids were received for Regions 3 or 4 in Class 3A or Region 1 in Class 1A. Those sites will be announced by the AAA at a later date.

Also announced were the state tournament sites for track and field. Rogers Heritage will host Class 6A, Prescott will host Class 3A, and Fayetteville will host the Decathlon and Heptathlon. No bids were received for classes 5A, 4A, 2A, 1A or the Meet of Champs.

Springdale and Springdale Har-Ber will host the Class 6A soccer state tournament with Siloam Springs hosting Class 5A, and Harrison hosting Class 4A. Class 3A and the state finals will be announced at a later date.

In baseball, Fort Smith will host the Class 6A state tournament, Jonesboro will host Class 5A, Morrilton Class 4A, Ashdown Class 3A, Carlisle Class 2A and Izard County Class 1A. Baseball regionals will be held at Harrison (4A North), Brookland (4A East), Nashville (4A South), Greenland (3A Region 1), Clinton (3A Region 2), Ashdown (3A Region 4), Tuckerman (2A Central), Carlisle (2A North), Horatio (2A South), Izard County (1A Region 2), and Ouachita (1A Region 4). Sites for 3A Region 3, 2A West, 1A Region 1, and 1A Region 3 were not announced.

Cabot will host the Class 6A state softball tournament with Morrilton hosting Class 4A, Ashdown Class 3A, Carlisle Class 2A and Izard County Class 1A. No bids were received for Class 5A softball.

Regional softball sites are Harrison (4A North), Brookland (4A East), Nashville (4A South), Valley Springs (3A Region 1), Ashdown (3A Region 4), Tuckerman (2A Central), Carlisle (2A North), Horatio (2A South), Izard County (2A Region 2), and Ouachita (2A Region 4). Sites for 3A Regions 2 and 3, 2A West and 1A Regions 1 and 3 received no bids and will be announced later.

The 2021 state volleyball tournament sites were also announced with Fort Smith Northside (6A), Marion (5A), Shiloh Christian (4A), Paris (3A) and Quitman (2A) all winning their bids. Bank OZK Arena will once again host the state finals.

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