By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Not that the issue in general was really in question, but the Macon Coliseum will again be in the GHSA basketball state championship business this spring.

There is a major difference.

All of the championships will be at the Coliseum, from Class A to 7A, not just half.

The Coliseum sent out a Tweet in mid-morning Wednesday that "Spectra is pleased to announce all four days of the @OfficialGHSA State Basketball Championships will return to the Macon Coliseum in 2019. We look forward to welcoming GHSA staff, student athletes and fans March 6-9, 2019."

After a problem with the goals being improperly placed in 2016, and other assorted complaints about the Coliseum and the general local operation, the GHSA moved the tournament finals to Georgia and Georgia Tech for a year. A new management company with the Coliseum made a slew of major and needed upgrades during that year away from the championships.

And the Coliseum was rewarded with half of the championships in 2018, hosting Class A public, AA, AAA and AAAAA on Wednesday and Thursday, March 7 and 8. Georgia Tech hosted Class A private, Class 4A, 6A, and Class 7A on that Friday and Saturday.

Fans at the Coliseum saw a different arena than the one they left after the 2016, starting with free parking for fans, bleacher seating for students, a new scoreboard, better seats and markedly improved lighting as well as a new court.

Ostensibly, a major reason for returning all games to Macon, in addition to how well things went at the Coliseum last spring as well as additional improvements since then, was the logistical issues of splitting the finals.

The same situation was in place two years ago, when GHSA officials, game officials, volunteers, etc., had to quickly go from two days in Athens to two days in Atlanta. That, and the fact that promises for improvements in Macon were, in fact, made and that led to a positive reaction from many of the same critics of a few years earlier.

Adding to issues is a marked lack of parking in the vicinity of Georgia Tech's McCamish Pavilion, as well as a general lack of access.

Most of the teams playing at Georgia Tech were in the metro Atlanta area, although the drive to Macon will still be easier for some of those teams should they return to the finals.