By Bruce Sayler

Mar. 20, 2008 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
The real state championship team might be the community of Butte, itself, with Advantage Butte being among the star players.

Advantage Butte officials said Tuesday that the city has been asked to step forward and take on two more larger sporting events to add to its already busy schedule. The March meeting of Advantage Butte, a group committed to community economic enhancement through sports, was held at the Butte Plaza Inn.

Organization president Ron Davis said Butte has been asked by the Montana High School Association to submit a bid for next year's state Class A-C track meet. Don Peoples Jr. of Butte Central said the Southern B Division has requested arrangements to hold its boys' basketball divisional tournament at the Maroon Activities Center.

The group will also be trying to lure the state high school swim meet and a club state swim meet to Butte.

Already on the agenda are district and divisional basketball and volleyball tournaments, the Frontier Conference basketball tournament, the state A girls' basketball tournament and the state Class AA boys' and girls' basketball tourney, all for next school year.

The requested Butte bid for the A-C track meet is for 2010 and must be submitted by April 1, Davis said. The following year's Class AA meet would probably follow, officials said.

With Class B undergoing realignment, dates won't be firmed for the potential holding of the Southern B Divisional next year until later, Peoples said. The MAC played host to the SouthCentral B Divisional girls' hoops tourney this season and it was the first time a Class B divisional tourney had been played in Butte in several years.

"We've been asked to bid on the 11/12-C volleyball tournament," Peoples added. "And we're working on five-year commitments with 11/12-C and the Western C Division for their (district and/or divisional) events." Peoples said MAC-sited basketball tournaments showed net receipts of $15,000 for the District 11/12-C tourney, $22,583 for the Western C Divisional and $14,500 for the SouthCentral B Divisional. He said both Class C tournaments showed increases. He said the B tourney was down a little from last year when it was held in Helena, but the state B boys' tournament held at the same time in Belgrade likely bit into attendance for the girls' divisional at the MAC.

Attempts are being made to work on alleviating conflicts on the Advantage Butte tournament schedule, it has become so congested.

Davis said the participants in the B and C district and divisional tournaments enjoy a better return toward their expenses from playing at the MAC than they have at other venues in recent times.

"With the gate split among them, most get back 35 percent (at other sites)," he said. "With Advantage Butte, it is about 74 percent back on their expenses of being in the tournaments." Montana Tech athletic director Joe McClafferty said he will try to start discussion with the Frontier Conference membership to change its four-day basketball tournament to a Sunday-through-Wednesday slate from the Wednesday-through-Saturday span it has been held.

"Then it wouldn't be competing against state tournaments at the Civic Center," McClafferty said.

This year's Frontier tourney, held at the MAC, was played the same time as the state Class B high school girls' tournament in the Civic Center, and while the Class AA boys' and girls' hoops tourneys, and the other state high school girls' tournaments were taking place.

McClafferty said the conference seems to now be happy with the tournament's placement in Butte.

"I think the Frontier likes the idea of the central location," McClafferty said. "Teams, especially those from outside Montana (Lewis-Clark State and Westminster) will probably always look for a higher-seed style of playoffs -- something to benefit their own teams and not to be seen as anti-Butte." Peoples said the heavy usage of the MAC for the many events is starting to tell on the 3-year-old facility, and added that a proposal is being put together for cost-sharing with Butte interests.

"The MAC needs $1,500 to $2,000 in locker room repairs," Peoples said. "And we've seen a $500 to $600 a day increase for the heat being on all day (during tournaments). So, we will be presenting a proposal to Advantage Butte." Davis, Butte High activities director Chuck Merrifield and Butte Civic Center manager Bill Melvin all noted that bids for 2010 and 2011 state high school tournaments and meets are due by April 1 and they will be trying to lure many for The Mining City. Known usual competing bids, group officials said, include $9,500 for a state Class A tournament and $7,500 for a Class A divisional at MetraPark Arena in Billings. Such are three-day events.

Advantage Butte began a training program last fall for reserve help in scorekeeping, timing and public address announcing at basketball games. The program was designed so that backup courtside officials would be available during heavy tournament schedules and to fill in during regulars' absences. It seemed to be successful.

"The new group of scorekeepers, timers and bench help did a great job," Peoples said. "We met some great people and some of them became great friends (through the training).

"We also had great help (at the MAC) from Glacier Bank workers who manned our concession stand one day, and from the Chamber of Commerce and staff. It was a great example of community effort going into the holding of these tournaments. "Abe Boomer of the Silver Bow Amateur Wrestling Association investigated the possibility of holding the national NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) wrestling tournament in the Civic Center with the University of Great Falls and Montana State-Northern serving as host schools.

The next bidding for the tournament will be held for the 2011 championships, Boomer said.

"The NAIA bid is every two years and 2009-2010 has already been awarded," he said. "We're working on 2011-2012. It would be for March 3-5 of 2011 and March 1-3 of 2012.

"We need commitments from the (UGF and MSU-N) coaches. And we probably need to approach them by the spring of 2009 to make sure the area teams are still on board." Melvin said the wrestling dates would conflict with state basketball tournaments and so Advantage Butte will have to determine which it prefers to pursue.

All tournaments held in Butte this year seemed to have earned rave reviews.

"We had the state boys' C and the state girls' B basketball tournaments and both went well," Melvin said. "Much of the thanks go to the help from Advantage Butte and the Chamber with the hospitality room and such. People like coming here." Melvin noted that the success of area small-school teams like the Twin Bridges boys and Whitehall and Deer Lodge girls at state tournaments held in Butte helped boost attendance.

The State Short-Course Swim Championships were held in Butte for the first time earlier this month with the Butte YMCA pool the site.

"The state meet had 398 swimmers and was a great success," Dale Sessions of the host club, the Butte Tarpons Swim Team, said. "We got nothing but praise for Butte, the pool, the club and so on. A bunch of state records fell. I guess Butte water is fast. We will bid on it again at the May (state swim organization) meeting for next year." Billie Shovlin of the Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce said the merchants and community put forth much toward the holding of all the events, the bulk of which took place in February and March.

"We had a great response of $300 (toward hospitality expenses) or in-kind and sponsorships," she said. "We had great help and everything went well." Advantage Butte past president Ray Ueland said restaurants should be encouraged to stay open a little later on tournament nights for a better show of hospitality toward the crowds. The group received some complaints that tournament goers had a hard time finding places to eat after the late games in Butte. Representatives of Butte hotels said their businesses were full during the tournaments and that they even had to send visitors to nearby towns for lodging.

McClafferty said a new function planned for Montana Tech is a Signing Day get-together planned for April 26. Athletes who have recently committed to Orediggers sports programs will be introduced to the public and talked about by the coaches, he said. Also, an oil painting by Mike Hamblin of Montana Tech football coach Bob Green is to be unveiled.

Butte youth baseball representative Ned Ellingwood said signups started for the coming Little League season. He said registration lagged some in the older baseball age groups and so they might be combined.

"We might have an eight- or nine-team league for one age group," he said. "With Anaconda, Dillon and Deer Lodge teams, we might have 13 or 14 teams." Final signups were held Wednesday night.

The next Advantage Butte meeting is scheduled for April 15 at the War Bonnet hotel.



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