Ag Center

[wrestler04]

The Ag Center is fine.  They have done a great job keeping the dust to a bare minimum in recent years.   You cant beat the location. 

[rjennings91]

It's hard for me to put into words to the young men and women I coach what it felt like for me to walk into McKenzie Arena and compete in the state tournament. I had only started wrestling as a freshman and had no real knowledge at the time of UTC's history or anything like that, but walking into a college facility with that look and environment...that was just a feeling like no other. Now, I just can't imagine the young men and women today get that same feeling walking into the Ag center and that's what disappoints me. I do see the positives as it is much more centrally located in the state which make travel easier and obviously the cost is unbeatable. I would just like to see a little more prestigious venue to reward our wrestlers for their hard work and dedication. I feel as though it should be a memorable experience for them, and I know that's what McKenzie Arena was for me. Just my 2 cents!

[wrestler04]

Until TN fans start to show up in great numbers, and are willing to pay $75 per person or so for all weekend entry, plus no outside food and paying to park...I dont see anything changing. 

[cobrakid8]

6 minutes ago, wrestler04 said:

Until TN fans start to show up in great numbers, and are willing to pay $75 per person or so for all weekend entry, plus no outside food and paying to park...I dont see anything changing. 

well, it is free and as they say sometimes you get what you pay for and well we see what the TSSAA wants to pay for their wrestlers! Again, i don't mind the central location of Nashville, it is a very happening city also, however the AG Center is the problem not the location and as long as TSSAA continues to get it for free they could care less about any health outcomes from the air quality or much of anything else because it saves them money. Now I would love to have MTSU start up their actual program for D1 and have the tourney there,  I loved when I went to MTSU and they could have the tourney there and it be worthy of being a State tourney arena.   

 

Also it was NEVER 75.00 for UTC at McClellan or Mckenzie, now they did keep out food and drink and parking did suck for sure(i was also a student there and its always been bad) but they did give a discounted rental rate for it and had to make up for that with concessions, which is the reason. Now as far as admission in, that is set by TSSAA, they take so much of the gate so they drive the prices of tickets so they can make their money. just like they do during playoff football and the state championships at Tech! 

[grumpyoldman]

4 hours ago, wrestler04 said:

The Ag Center is fine.  They have done a great job keeping the dust to a bare minimum in recent years.   You cant beat the location. 

I agree.  Cant beat the location and I find the seating to be awesome to watch the matches.

[drem2achive]

Have been to the CP 2 times since I don't coach any more, both times as a spectator. I thought the venue was good for wrestling. It was just poorly attended compared to chatt. being able to see is great fits all the mats u need. the odor was a little funky. could do more to fix that. and maybe if the tssaa was costing itself several 100's of thousand's on football may have a little more to spend. people need to go and attend the events and pay a decent price for the honor of going, we as wrestling fans tend to be cheap sometimes. it takes money to be good. look who is good in the state and look who has the most money. they work extremely hard. but they have more than most. so support the sport with your dollars and person.

 

[russian]

Bottom line it’s for the young men and women who love wrestling! They don’t complain! They just want to wrestle!! Something that none of y’all have mention. IT’S A TRUE DOUBLE ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT! None of that carry crap like in Chattanooga because they didn’t have enough time in the gym because of basketball. The wrestlers progression is square on his shoulders verses waiting to see if they were gonna get “carried “. I will take the “ cow palace” every time for this double elimination tournament!

[cobrakid8]

1 hour ago, russian said:

Bottom line it’s for the young men and women who love wrestling! They don’t complain! They just want to wrestle!! Something that none of y’all have mention. IT’S A TRUE DOUBLE ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT! None of that carry crap like in Chattanooga because they didn’t have enough time in the gym because of basketball. The wrestlers progression is square on his shoulders verses waiting to see if they were gonna get “carried “. I will take the “ cow palace” every time for this double elimination tournament!

UTC could have easily done double elimination that was a choice by TSSAA and a cop out for not doing it. Why do you think some of us could spend hours at the student  center , wasn't because we got put out or anything, it's because TSSAA scheduled huge breaks in the action so they could pocket more money! The floor with bleachers in can hold 10 mats and the time the tournament was moved was because TSSAA wouldn't give them the schedule ahead of time (year ahead as If they didn't know the date) and so a basketball was scheduled and TSSAA came in thinking they could push it off! My friend sets a bunch of that stuff up and TSSAA F'd that up themselves. 

 

Also don't tell me the wrestlers don't care, I loved being at UTC a school I ended up graduating from, but don't pretend the Cow Palace is anything in the same zip code as wrestling at UTC, I mean it worked for the Southern Open for years and holds the Scuffle now! Again, hold it at MTSU or at Bridgestone if possible, I don't even care that it's not at UTC now, but is a joke that it's at the Cow Palace and a shame for the wrestlers. This is the penultimate ending for a wrestler, some might not ever step foot on a mat again and we put them where walking horses crap in and dog shows take place. I would love to see the figures for attendance, because you now have A/AA, AAA, D2 and girls all at same time and probably still dont have the attendance UTC did and Nashville has a greater population to draw from. I bet TSSAA is doing the Scrooge McDuck diving into their pool of gold since they charge for 4 different classifications of attendee's AND don't have to pay for the rental of the arena.

[russian]

We we always at the mercy of UTC basketball scheduling. If it was possible to have a double elimination tournament at UTC   TSSAA  should have done that years ago. I like the environment at UTC also. But in the end, it’s about the wrestlers and their ability to have the Double elimination tournament! Now you have all the girls teams added to the mix of D1 and D2. I still think with the central location in Tennessee we are in the best place. It’s our job to support the wrestlers!

[WrestlingGod]

15 hours ago, russian said:

Bottom line it’s for the young men and women who love wrestling! They don’t complain! They just want to wrestle!! Something that none of y’all have mention. IT’S A TRUE DOUBLE ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT! None of that carry crap like in Chattanooga because they didn’t have enough time in the gym because of basketball. The wrestlers progression is square on his shoulders verses waiting to see if they were gonna get “carried “. I will take the “ cow palace” every time for this double elimination tournament!

It was pull through format when it was first moved to Franklin.

[cobrakid8]

5 hours ago, russian said:

We we always at the mercy of UTC basketball scheduling. If it was possible to have a double elimination tournament at UTC   TSSAA  should have done that years ago. I like the environment at UTC also. But in the end, it’s about the wrestlers and their ability to have the Double elimination tournament! Now you have all the girls teams added to the mix of D1 and D2. I still think with the central location in Tennessee we are in the best place. It’s our job to support the wrestlers!

I don’t mind the location, also please don’t talk about what you know nothing about! UTC would ask for the tourney date a year in advance(which almost all states do because it’s their tournament and they set the state wrestling calendar from start to end date). The one year there were issues is because TSSAA refused to give the date and so when basketball season schedule was set there was a game on the date in which TSSAA wanted it because they had not sent the dates to UTC. Also TSSAA was approached by UTC and stated that more mats could be placed if they wanted double elimination. They were told it was not needed and the schedule was set with multiple breaks each year with hours in between some wrestling. The schedule and space were there and TSSAA didn’t want it but would come up with some excuse on why it wasn’t being done. If the AG center wasn’t free I would bet they wouldn’t be double elimination now. That’s how cheap TSSAA is you would think they would want more rounds of wrestling but they couldn’t charge more at the time for sessions and more matches equals more money for officials and such.

[Newestguy]

There are goods and bads with everything in life

goods

1) the venue is free

2) location is centralized

3) viewing is decent for spectators 

 

bads

1) it’s a national embarrassment

2) the kids wrestle on top of animal manure

3) there is dust and animal fecies in the air. It’s on the rails, on the seats, on the concession stands, on the water fountains, on the concrete and everywhere in the facility. Do you think the entire place is sanitized before the tournament? That would cost more than hosting it in Bridgestone Arena.

4) the attendance is embarrassing

5) There are no showers. There isn’t even a locker room for the kids to change. They have to change in the restrooms with the spectators. There are several health code violations going on here. In fact according to the TSSAA you can’t host a football playoff without shower facilities. How much more for a wrestling tournament?. How ironic that the main focus of the TSSAA preseason required coaches meetings is skin desease. I guess since it’s the end of the year it doesn’t matter.  I’m shocked up to this point there haven’t been any lawsuits (just wait).

6) the athletes deserve a first class facility. They are wrestling in an agricultural center. It’s not an arena. It’s a barn for animal shows. It’s supposed to be the state tournament. The showcase. The ultimate event of a high school wrestlers career. Make no mistake. They are wrestling in a barn on top of animal fecies. You can deceive yourself all you want. It’s a National embarrassment.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Newestguy