LAKELAND, Fla. – After decades of being held in the city of Lakeland, the Boys and Girls State Basketball Championships will now be hosted in Jacksonville.
Local perspective:
Abby Starkey and her husband started the Chop Shop in 2006 and have been in downtown Lakeland for nearly two decades.
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“It has been great! We started with not that many businesses downtown, and now it’s just thriving,” she said. “It’s a great community.”
The RP Funding Center hosts all kinds of big events and has been a huge driving factor for Starkey’s business. Now, one of the biggest events that draws tens of thousands of visitors to the area, the Boys and Girls State Basketball Championships, will be moving to Jacksonville.
Starkey said it’s an unfortunate change.
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“Brick-and-mortar businesses are still struggling to get people in the door and to sustain a living, and a business that walks away and goes into another city is a negative for us,” said Starkey.
The other side:
In a statement to FOX 13, a spokesperson for the Florida High School Athletic Association wrote:
“The FHSAA is grateful for the decades-long partnership with the city of Lakeland and Polk County in hosting the Boys and Girls State Basketball Championships. The move to the University of North Florida in Jacksonville provides an opportunity for our student-athletes to play in an NCAA Division I facility. In doing so, the FHSAA continues to play a role in creating lifetime memories for our student-athletes.”
Starkey said the RP Funding Center has been an integral part of downtown, but businesses like hers have also contributed to its success. She hopes that won’t be overlooked.
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“I hope that with certain events leaving, new ones will come that haven’t been down here before and that attract new people and exciting events,” she said.
What’s next:
The championships will be held at CSI Companies Court at the University of North Florida Arena, beginning with the 2026 event.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Carla Bayron.