Cedar Rapids secures high school state volleyball tourney through 2021

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Iowa Girls' State High School Volleyball Tournament will continue to be held at the U.S. Cellular Center through 2021, Sharon Cummins, executive director for center operator VenuWorks, said Tuesday.

The tournament has been held in Cedar Rapids since 1991, including 2011 and 2012 when the U.S. Cellular Center was under renovation and it was unclear whether the city would keep the tournament.

Cummins told the City Council on Tuesday that plenty of other Iowa communities were interested in the tournament back then, but the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union stuck with Cedar Rapids and permitted the tournament to move temporarily to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

Mary Lee Malmberg, sports tourism director at the Cedar Rapids Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, on Tuesday said the tournament brought $1.7 million in direct spending to the city last fall and more than $38 million to city restaurants, shops and hotels since 1991.

The Athletic Union will pay $154,000 in rent in the five years of the extended contract.

In a statement, Mike Dick, executive director of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, said the U.S. Cellular Center provides 'a fantastic venue for our schools, players and fans.”