Libla Family Sports Complex set to debut Saturday

The Three Rivers campus will be abuzz for Region XVI action Saturday as usual, but in a different location for the first time in three and a half decades.

The Libla Family Sports Complex will be the site of the Three Rivers Alumni Reunion on Saturday, and after the ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m., both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will face State Fair at 7 p.m. and 5 p.m. respectively.

Opening up the new gym has been a long time coming since it was first announced in 2016. The complex will seat approximately 3,000 people and includes a weight room on the lower level that doubles as a FEMA safe room in the south side of the building.

“It’s just a fabulous building,” Three Rivers men’s basketball coach Gene Bess said. “I think we got a lot of building for 10 and a half, $11 million, whatever it was. I got to watch it go up, and it’s just been a long time coming. It’s been talked about for several years. It looks better than I ever thought it would.”

Down the hall from the weight room are locker rooms for the teams and four offices. A training room sits just inside the exit. The back hallway on the west side of the facility will feature men’s and women’s restrooms, a mechanical area and offices for the referees to change into their uniforms. Visiting locker rooms will occupy the corners of the back hallway.

The weight room occupies the south hallway and is easily accessible to the baseball team, too, if they need it for indoor practices or training if the weather is inclement. The weight room will be exclusive to the athletes, whereas before they had to use the weight room inside the BAC, which was also open to students. The opening of the Libla also opens availability for more school activities inside the BAC.

“From a college standpoint, I think it fits in with the environment we’ve been trying to build, and that’s a physical environment that matches the high quality of the offerings we provide to our community,” Three Rivers President Dr. Wesley Payne said.

The school plans to begin holding graduation ceremonies inside the new facility when it is fully completed.

Around the court, the gym will feature seating on all sides. Traditional bleacher seating is offered along both baselines, and the seats that span across the sidelines will offer back support, eliminating the need to purchase boat seats.

The booster club will sell $50 season passes. For an extra $75, fans can reserve a specific seat for each home game.

For Saturday’s parking situation, there will be four shuttle buses throughout the parking areas on campus to haul fans to and from the arena.

“We recognized from the very beginning that there will not be sufficient parking close to the arena to serve 3,000 fans,” Payne said. So, from the beginning, we had planned to do shuttle service for people parking.”

The school is still exploring additional parking options for the future but hopes Saturday runs smoothly in order to meet the expectations of the community.

“It’s going to be the first big event in the new facility, so I’m expecting a wall-to-wall crowd and a lot of excitement,” Payne said.

Said Three Rivers women’s basketball coach Jeff Walk, “Just being the first game in the new facility, the hype is awesome.”

When he first saw how the gym looked in person, Walk was taken aback by the experience.

“When they got that floor painted, I was just like, wow. I mean, I don’t have the words, honestly, to say what I felt just to go in the place,” Walk said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime dream. There’s not many coaches in junior college that’ll be able to say they opened up an arena like that.”

The design of the court takes a modernized approach. The Raider logo spans for than 30 feet at center court. Between both 3-point lines, the wood is stained black while the mid-range area inside the 3-point arcs keeps a natural look. The painted area is black with “3R” in yellow.

The players have yet to see the gym since the floor was finished, and they have high hopes for the final product once Saturday arrives.

“I don’t think they want us to go in it; I think they want it to be a surprise,” Three Rivers freshman Katelyn South said. “We went in there (before it was finished) a few times, and we’ve seen pictures. It’s huge. It’s a lot bigger and nicer… and it’ll be nice when we start playing games in it.

“We basically have to play (Saturday) like an away game because we’ve never played in it before.”

Added Casey Douglas, “I heard that a lot of people are coming, and we’re pretty excited to play in it. And we haven’t seen it all put together in person, but we’ve seen a bunch of pictures and that it’s going to look really nice.”

The pictures give a glimpse of what to expect, but Walk knows they don’t do tell the full story of what the inside of the building will look like.

“Pictures don’t do it any justice whatsoever,” Walk said. “... Until you actually get to see it firsthand, the enormity of it is huge.”

From a recruiting standpoint, the coaching staffs believe the new facility will give them a leg up on the competition because it’s rare to find one like it in the region.

“I think you’re going to have to go to Texas, Kansas (or) Florida to find a gym like that,” Walk said. “I’ve been to a place in Tupelo, Mississippi, that has a gym like that, but it’s about 12, 15 years old.”

Added Bess, “I think it’ll be a new era. I think it’s one of those situations where there’s going to be a lot of positive things happen from this new facility. I know it’s going to be good for our basketball programs. It’ll be good for the college. It’ll be good for the community.

“I think we’ll have a really good crowd. I hope we’ll have a lot of old Raiders. … I would love to see a basketball reunion and see some of these old guys come back that played as long as 45, 47 years ago when we started.”

Three Rivers didn’t have a home court when the program started in during 1967-68 season and for its first 16 seasons, practicing and playing at Poplar Bluff High School’s E.T. “Pete” Peters Gym.

Bess was named head coach for the 1970-71 season and the Raiders made their first appearance at the NJCAA National Tournament, finishing fourth. The Raiders were 338-92 under Bess in 12 years without a home gym, winning the 1979 national championship.

The Bess Activity Center debuted during the 1982-83 season. The Raiders, who won their final game there Tuesday night, beating Nationwide Academy 95-74, were a combined 432-75 at the BAC. They also played 71 home games at the downtown Black River Coliseum, starting in 1999-2000 and last playing there in 2012 with a record of 63-8.