Basketball tournament travels through Rio Rancho

For the second straight year the Santa Ana Star Center hosts state competition

by STEVE PAINTER

The Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho is hosting the state high school basketball tournament for the second consecutive year.

The multi-purpose arena has undergone eight hours of remodeling to change the floor from wrestling mats to hardwood for the three days of high school basketball beginning Tuesday.

“At 6 p.m. there were 12 wrestling mats out here,” Tommy Scott, executive director of the Santa Ana Star Center, said. “It took 10 guys overnight to get it ready for the basketball tournament.”

Once the wrestling mats were taken out the basketball floor, baskets, retractable seating and folding chairs had to be brought out of storage.

The storage area is located on the west side of the arena and has a loading dock where semi-trucks can come in to help set up for concerts.

“Everything is stored back here,” Amy Lahti, director of marketing for the Santa Ana Star Center, said. “The Zambonis to clean the ice, folding chairs, floors, goals and anything else we need is stored in here.”

Lahti said New Mexico Scorpions games hold about 5,600 people. For the New Mexico Activities Association basketball tournament, retractable seating had to be brought out and folding chairs put on them in order to make the capacity somewhere between 7,500-7,800.

Besides adding extra seating and removing the wrestling mats, precautions have to be taken to make sure the ice is protected.

“We don’t have time between events to make sure the ice is perfect,” Lahti said.

To make sure the ice stays perfect, the Santa Ana Star Center has laid insulated floor boards to protect it. Lahti said the boards have a layer of foam sandwiched between hard plastic.

These boards cost $300-$350 according to Lahti, but are well worth the expense with all the events the Santa Ana Star Center hosts. Upcoming events include the Democratic Convention on March 15, the return of the Scorpions on March 18 and the debut of the American Indoor Football Association’s New Mexico Wildcats on April 26.

“I have a saying, that we should be busy 360 days a year,” Scott said.

This week will be taken up by the state basketball tournament. The Santa Ana Star Center will host 24 games this year of both boys and girls basketball. The 4A girls and 3A boys will be the largest classes to play in the Santa Ana Star Center.

“Games rotate based on attendance,” said Sally Marquez, associate director for the NMAA. “If the class draws huge numbers, they go to the Pit.”

With venues determined by attendance, that means the 4A girls will be at the Santa Ana Star Center, while the 3A girls will be at the Pit because they are expected to draw more than 6,000 people, Marquez said.

Marquez estimated that this year’s attendance will be about 125,000 for both boys and girls tournaments at venues across the state.

She also said the Santa Ana Star Center is maxed out with hosting eight games a day for the three days. With all these games being played in Rio Rancho, it is hard for fans to get back to Albuquerque quickly.

“The only negative I’ve heard,” Marquez said, “is that it’s a far drive to Santa Ana. People can’t get to the Pit in time for the next game.”

Although the drive to Rio Rancho can be a pain for some, the experience at the Santa Ana Star Center has been positive for others.

“I enjoyed it,” said Tom Manning, athletic director for St. Michael’s High School. “My son, a player on the team, liked it too, so did most of the players I talked to.”

St. Michael’s is the defending 3A state champs and played a game in the Santa Ana Star Center a year ago. This year as the No. 1 seed, St. Michael's will take on Laguna Acoma in the late game Wednesday.

Last year’s girls 4A champs, Aztec lost in the first round this year. The No. 1 seed is Kirtland Central, which also played last year in the Santa Ana Star Center.

The girls A and AA semifinals will be played at the Santa Ana Star Center. The quarterfinals will be played at Rio Rancho High School. Girls 4A quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at the Santa Ana Star Center.

On the boys side, class A semifinals will be at the Santa Ana Star Center, while the AA quarterfinals will also be held there with the semifinals being moved to the Pit. The 3A boys will have their quarterfinals at the Santa Ana Star Center.

All finals for both boys and girls will be played at the Pit.

“The championships will always be at the Pit,” Marquez said.

Although the Santa Ana Star Center won’t host championships for the state tournament, it has provided a service for the NMAA.

“We needed to have one venue capable of holding multiple teams,” Marquez said. “High school sites were not able to accommodate, but the Santa Ana Star Center was.”

Written March 13, 2008

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