Staying in Peoria the right move

The IHSA takes a lot of shots for just about everything. But the decision to keep the boys basketball state tournaments in Peoria - without putting them through the usual bidding process - makes perfect sense. Since 1996, the community has made the tourneys truly special events with the way it has embraced every part of them from hospitality for every team to the fans (who are still coming after the expansion to four classes).
Champaign had its chance for 76 years and other than the majesty of Assembly Hall, hasn't had much else to offer other than inflated hotel prices. Move it to the United Center or Sears Centre in Chicago and it just becomes something else in a major metropolitan area with so many other things to do. Would watered-down four-class basketball suddenly become a bigger and better draw because it was held somewhere else?
Peoria isn't perfect - as a Bradley alum who attended a lot of games in the early days of the Civic Center, it's less than ideal for watching basketball. If you could drop Assembly Hall into downtown Peoria it would be a heck of a lot better. But it's centrally located for everyone in the state and the passage of time hasn't diminished the community's commitment to making it feel like the equivalent of the Super Bowl or the NCAA Final Four.