Olympic Wrestling Trials come to where they're most appreciated: Iowa City

IOWA CITY - I've covered U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials in Allandale, Mich., Spokane, Wash., and Dallas.

All had unforgettable moments, the supreme highs of wrestlers qualifying to go to the Olympics and the devastating lows of those who came maddeningly close.

But none of those events were held in a wrestling town, a place where fans blow the lid off the arena roof when they're excited enough.

Of course, how many of those really exist in this country? There's Iowa City, and then there's ...

“Nobody draws like Iowa,” said Josh Schamberger, the president of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “I don't think anybody can dispute that.”

This will be a different kind of Trials. This will be Carver-Hawkeye Arena stuffed with passionate wrestling fans. Goose bumps from exhilaration and tears from sorrow will be seen and shared, from the mats on the arena floor all the way up to the back row of the arena.

And when a familiar Iowa guy wins a match, the roars might lift the lid off the top of the building for a moment or two.

As of Monday afternoon, 11,600 of the Trials' 13,700 all-session tickets (priced at $70, with two sessions on both Saturday and Sunday) had been sold.

The previous single-session record crowd was 9,434, in 2000 at Dallas. In Las Vegas four years ago, the total attendance over three days was 22,642.

The process to bid for the Trials began in August 2010, with Schamberger and Iowa assistant athletic director for event promotions Les Steenlage carrying the water. Steenlage has overseen four NCAA Wrestling Championships at Iowa since 1988.

In November 2010, the nine potential candidates were narrowed to three. Columbus, Ohio and Omaha-Council Bluffs were the other finalists. Each finalist sent a group to Colorado Springs last Jan. 12 to make presentations.

“I flew out with Les Steenlage early,” Schamberger said. “We had a plane with eight other people come in two days later. I had said the plane was not allowed to take off without Dan Gable and (Iowa wrestling coach) Tom Brands on board. Tom's team had a meet at Oklahoma State two days later but he made time for this.

“We made an hour-and-a-half to two-hour presentation. We started with (Iowa City) Mayor Matt Hayek, then Tom and Dan, and I finished to talk about particulars.”

Schamberger had notes with talking points for Brands and Gable.

“I remember Tom shuffling his notes aside. I thought to myself ‘Oh, boy.' But he delivered in spades.

“Angel Escobedo, a former NCAA champion at Indiana, was on the committee to choose the site. I remember Tom just yelling ‘Angel Escobedo! You've been to the nationals and the Big Tens for some of the greatest moments of your life. And this guy (pointing to Steenlage) is known around the country for being the best at putting on these tournaments.

“I was wondering where Tom was going, but he nailed it.”

Five days later, the call came. Iowa City-Coralville had been given the 2012 Trials.

The break-even point, to cover the $300,000 bid fee and all operational expenses was reached when 8,000 tickets were sold.

“I thought without any question that we get 10,000,” Schamberger said. “Look at Iowa and what it draws for dual meets.”

The question isn't if the Trials will be good financially for Iowa City-Coralville, Cedar Rapids, and the USOC and USA Wrestling. It will. Rather, it's if Iowa City will be hosting more of the same in the future.

“Come next Monday,” Schamberger said, “I'm hoping people on Facebook, Twitter, and message boards at places like themat.com are saying this thing needs to be in Iowa City every year, the Olympic Trials or the World Team Trials.

“I really think we're going to provide an experience for the fans. The athletes, too. They deserve to be in an arena filled with passionate wrestling fans, and you won't find anything like this anywhere else in the country.”

Good and intense stuff, that's what this will be.