KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There will be no semifinals or championship games in basketball this season for the Kansas State High School Activities Association.
KSHSAA announced the decision Thursday evening a few hours after Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced a statewide state of emergency along with the state's first confirmed COVID-19 death.
The Missouri State High School Activities Association is still on for Saturday, but with a new venue for Kansas City schools and in front of only essential personnel.
The four quarterfinal games originally scheduled for Saturday at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena have now been moved to Blue Springs South High School.
The Class 5 games are set for the early afternoon with Blue Springs and Liberty's girls battling at 1 p.m. followed by the Raymore-Peculiar and Staley boys around 2:45 p.m.
The Class 4 quarterfinals are set for the evening with Grain Valley and Lincoln Prep's girls meeting at 6 p.m. followed by Raytown South's boys against St. Joseph-Lafayette around 7:45 p.m.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR CLASS 4 AND 5 QUARTERFINALS THIS SATURDAY, MARCH 14TH. pic.twitter.com/3M38JjNVhn
— MSHSAA (@MSHSAAOrg) March 13, 2020
"Only essential personnel will be allowed in the arena for all quaterfinal games on Saturday," MSHSAA said after initially planning to limit the number of spectators.
Participating schools will be responsible for designating "essential personnel."
MSHSAA had previously announced Thursday it would limit spectators at state tournament games to 150 fans per school.
