By John Curtis
Dodge City Daily Globe
The Dodge City Law’s football game against the Sioux City Bandits has been moved back a day to accomadate the Dodge City Sports Commissions bid to host the Class 1A-Division II state tournament at United Wireless Arena.
The Law will now play their second home game at 4 p.m. Sunday, March 15 at the arena. The game with the Bandits was originallly scheduled for March 14, but that is the same day as the final and third place games to be played during the high school basketball tournament.
Law co-owner/general manager Ricky Bertz said the team had been informed about the possibility of Dodge City hosting the state tournament and he said the organization understands the importance of possible tournaments in the future at the arena.
“It helps the city of Dodge to show what they can accomplish,” Bertz said. “We have an excellent arena to host the basketball tournament. It’s a win-win because it helps our exposure to people out of town, but we also know it will increase the exposure of the town because of the facility.
“We recognized the advantages of moving the tournament here. When (Dodge City Sports Commission president) Jay Gifford called us, we were open to the idea and told them ‘Let’s sit down and get this done.'”
Bertz said he is in the process of calling the Champions Indoor Football league, the Bandits, season ticket holders and corporate sponsors about the game date and time change.
Gifford said he was thankful to the Law for moving their game date and allowing the city to host the state tournament.
“They graciously offered to go through the extra effort of moving their game,” Gifford said. “The entire Law staff clearly understood the economic impact to our community, and the opportunity this offered to possibly host future KSHSAA events.
“Everyone involved anticipates that the Law fans will show up in full force on the 15th to enjoy the game and show their support for their community mindedness concerning this change of schedule.”