It's the same way in economic development or bidding for an event to come to your town.

A perfect example is the joint Grand Island/Hastings bid for the State Volleyball Tournament. Grand Island organizers put together an outstanding proposal that utilized the Heartland Events Center, Grand Island Senior High, Northwest, Central Catholic and facilities at Hasting College and Hastings High School.

Unfortunately, the Nebraska State Athletic Association's board of directors voted 5-1 to keep the State Volleyball Tournament in Lincoln for the next two years.

The decision was disappointing to Grand Island officials who worked so hard on the bid, but it shouldn't be defeating and hopefully Grand Island will continue to make similar bids in the future.

Grand Island has a lot to offer, particularly the Heartland Events Center, which has proved an ideal place for basketball, and would also be a great location for volleyball.

The cooperation with Hastings was also a key element of the bid. Hastings College would be an outstanding site for early round games.

However, working against Grand Island was the tradition of holding it in Lincoln and the lure of the NU Coliseum where the Huskers play. The Coliseum is an intimate, energetic setting that is an exciting venue for high school athletes.

But there are some years when the Coliseum isn't available because of home Nebraska football games. Those years the volleyball tournament is held in Pershing Auditorium, which is an outdated and outmoded facility with steep steps and poor lighting.

The Heartland Events Center would be a vast improvement from Pershing and we hope the NSAA will consider Grand Island for future tournaments.

Grand Island officials shouldn't lose heart; their efforts weren't for nothing. It helped lay the groundwork for what could be future successes and future major events brought to Grand Island.

One of the current success stories will take place Saturday at the events center with the first-ever Nebraska State High School Cheerleading and Dance Championships, in which 1,200 students will compete.

We hope Grand Island will have the opportunity to host many more of these kinds of events in the future.