State basketball venues slated for Monday IHSA board vote

The Illinois High School Association announced on Wednesday that its board of directors will vote on state basketball tournament hosting bids when the board meets on Monday, June 15.

"The IHSA board of directors will deliberate and vote on the host venues for the IHSA girls and boys basketball state final tournaments for 2021-2023 when they meet on Monday, June 15," said IHSA executive director Craig Anderson in a statement.

Bids to host the boys' tournaments have been received by the Peoria Civic Center and the State Farm Center in Champaign. The boys' tournaments have been held in Peoria since 1996, when they were moved from Champaign.

Bids to host the girls' tournaments have been received from Illinois State's Redbird Arena and the Peoria Civic Center. The girls' state finals have been held at Redbird Arena since 1992, when they were moved from Champaign.

"It had initially been my intention to hold off on making a decision on host venues until the IHSA board of directors were able to meet again in person," Anderson said. "However, as the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact our timeline, we have reached a juncture where we believe it will become detrimental to the potential host venue or venues, as well as our staff, if we continue to wait any longer. Monday's board meeting will be conducted remotely via a video conference call. We appreciate the patience of everyone involved in this process."