Why the HL Loves Valpo

Valparaiso is a beautiful small city in Northwest Indiana.  In another week this small city will host the Horizon League tournament semi finals (and possibly the finals).  Six teams, their coaches/players/cheerleaders/bands, their students, alumni, and media members will all ascend upon on our quiet town for at minimum a weekend of basketball mayhem.

The Horizon League has to be excited about the tourney coming to Valpo.  As Mark Lazerus reported last week the league will lose out on some ticket sales, practice space will be tricky, and the locker rooms in the ARC might not be ideal for basketball teams.  The ARC can fit only about half of what Butler and Milwaukee can seat in their home gyms.  The Wolstein Center in Cleveland holds three times what the ARC holds.  What Valpo lacks in numbers it makes up for in energy.  When the ARC is full the enthusiasm and electricity is like no other gym in the league.

The number of convienently located hotels and restraunts will make everyones' stay in Valpo a plesant one (even if your team doesn't win).  Heck, you could even take the 15 minute drive to Chesterton and get a haircut from Valpo fan Matthew Carter at Cuts and Shaves.  There has been some concern about parking, but with the students gone there should be a lot more open spaces, although you may have to huff it a few blocks.

I think one of the other reasons the HL bigwigs are excited to be coming to Valpo has been overlooked, safety.  Using this site I researched the crime rates of Valpo, Indy, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.  These other three citties are much larger then Valpo, but the numbers don't lie.  The crime indices range 1-10. A higher number corresponds with more crime. These crime rates are based on FBI data.

Valpo: Violent Crime: 5   Property Crime: 4
Indy: Violent Crime: 9   Property Crime: 8
Cleveland: Violent Crime: 9   Property Crime: 8
Milwaukee: Violent Crime: 9   Property Crime: 8

So, come to Valpo next weekend.  Enjoy the good eats at our local restraunts, peruse our local shops (stop by rTrail and see my wife's art exhibit in March), and spend your tourism dollars in our small quiet town.  Cheer on your teams and feel safe doing it.