The Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa State University announced today (Tuesday) that the boy’s state basketball tournament will be moving to Hilton Coliseum in Ames starting in 2027. The tournament has been held in Des Moines at Vets Auditorium or Wells Fargo Arena since 1963. I-H-S-A-A executive director Tom Keating says the decision came out of their normal review of tournaments and sites.

Keating says they revisited Hilton Coliseum five or six months ago, as some things changed and it worked out to make the move.

Keating praised the staff at Wells Fargo Arena and their association with them. He says it’s a much bigger facility than Hilton.

Moving the boy’s basketball tournament in 2027 will coincide with the opening of the CyTown district being developed at the Iowa State Center.

The boy’s tourney has been in Ames before at the I-S-U State Gym from 1917 to 1922. It was last held at State Gym in 1926, and Keating says it’s exciting to return to Ames and hold the tourney at Hilton.

The boy’s state tournament moved around to several locations, including the University of Iowa and Drake field houses, and the West Gym on the U-N-I campus, before taking up residence at Vets Auditorium.