DAYTON, Ohio — The OHSAA Girls’ and Boys’ basketball championships will be held at UD Arena for the first time ever. But due to the pandemic, there are a lot of changes for how the venue will operate.

What You Need To Know

  • UD Arena will host the OHSAA Boys’ and Girls’ basketball championships for the first time ever

  • UD Arena will allow fans at a reduced capacity with no more than 1,700 fans

  • Executive Director Scott DeBolt said UD Arena will be ready to provide a safe venue for student-athletes and fans 

  • There will be cashless concessions and ticketing will be digital

UD Arena is no stranger to hosting big basketball events. Executive Director Scott DeBolt is in charge of overseeing the operation.

“A little different March madness than what we normally have on a typical year and all that, but yeah we’re just excited to have more basketball in the building and ready to show our building off,” DeBolt said.  

DeBolt is doing a walk-through of the arena to make sure all safety systems are in place for Thursday when the 46th annual Girls’ State Basketball Tournament semifinals begin. 

But it’s something his team is ready for, especially after the completion of a three-year $76 million dollar renovation in 2019. 

“For a 50-year-old building, it looks pretty good,” he said. “We got one great season the first year with it before COVID shut us down this past year. So we’re glad to open it back up and get fans in the building even if it’s not full capacity.”

By Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health’s order on mass gatherings, arenas are allowed to host fans at 25% capacity. However, UD Arena will be slightly less than that to help with social distancing.

“We can basically get up to 1,600, 1,700 socially distanced in pods of one, two, three and four in our current configuration,” DeBolt said. 

The seats are marked with red tape so fans don't get mixed up. 

“Just trying to keep everyone safe, socially distanced, encourage people to wear their masks at all times except when they’re actively eating or drinking,” he said.  

DeBolt said ticketing and concessions will also be different. Ticketing will be digital and concessions will be cashless with a limited menu. 

“There will be plenty of options, and Friday on lent we’ll even have fish sandwiches,” DeBolt said. 

UD Arena is also equipped with four different locker rooms, that way no teams experience cross-contact while dressing. Teams may arrive 90 minutes prior to tipoff. 

Overall DeBolt said the entire team at UD Arena is relieved to get back to some sense of normalcy after an up and down year. 

“We’re just excited to be able to have the opportunity to provide this experience for these student-athletes, their fans, and their communities,” DeBolt said. “To have a good state tournament and provide it in a safe environment.” 

With UD Arena operating at a reduced capacity, tickets for the general public are not being sold but semifinal games can be streamed on Channel 314, and all championship games will air Saturday on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News App.