“More business is lost every year through neglect than through any other cause.” - Rose Kennedy”

Recently we’ve had the pleasure of enjoying two very successful sporting events here in our own backyard. Both the Massey Invitational Baskteball Tournament and the Hafield-McCoy West Virginia - Kentucky Shoot-out were excellent events that saw thousands of fans come to the Williamson Fieldhouse.

Packed houses for both of these events provided an electric and fun-filled atmosphere that would rival any event anywhere in this country. The fieldhouse aptly met the needs of both event sponsors and the fans were in a great atmosphere for entertainment. Just as it does for other events which draw capacity crowds such as the regional basketball tournaments, the annual “Rough and Rowdy” amatuer boxing tournament, and tool shows throughout the year.

I, like many of you, have went to other venues such as the East Kentucky Expo Center, the Big Sandy Arena, the Charleston Civic Center or the Mountain Arts Center to watch big name musical acts, Gaither Homecoming Tours, semi-pro basketball, car shows and other sports-theme related events. And these are fine facilities to be sure.

But how many times have you left one of those events saying “Wow, I wish we could get an event like this in Williamson or Mingo County.” Come on. Admit it. We all have.

The problem with that thinking though always comes back to the question where? And while trying to think of where such an event could be held, we always forget and neglect the obvious answer staring us in the face: the grand old lady known as “The Fieldhouse.”

During the recent Shooutout at the fieldhouse, visiting coaches made comments about our grand old venerable arena such as “this is the mecca of high school basketball in this state. More big games ave been played here than anywhere else.” Another comment was “our community would die to have a facility like this. No place in southern West Virginia can match this fieldhouse.”

As a youngster, I remember watching such big time shows as the Harlem Globetrotters and even big time Southern Gospel sings held at the Fieldhouse. And that’s not to mention such big basketball matchups as Princeton - Williamson.

We have this fine facility in out county that could support some of the same type of shows going to Pikeville and the Expo Center or Huntington and Big Sandy Arena.

So why don’t we use it as such. Let;s get behind our city and county re-development officials and the Park Board and lets do what we need to do to make this happen. If we do, the entire area will be the better for it.

That’s how I see it, from the other side of the desk. See ya’ down the road.