Moving prep sports tournaments to outstate Minnesota sounds like a good idea. Not only are venues in the Twin Cities costly, the student-athletes, their families and the school bus drivers have to navigate twisted metropolitan traffic.

A story in the Star Tribune on Monday said moving the tournaments is a worst-case scenario for Minnesota State High School League but it could happen if fees at venues continue to climb. The league has tourney contracts with the Xcel Energy Center, Target Center and the University of Minnesota through 2013.

Holding a hockey tournament in Mankato or a basketball tournament in Rochester actually might turn out to be blessings in disguise. The Minnesota State High School League would save money and families would face fewer headaches.

The loss of the tournaments would be a drop in the bucket for the Twin Cities economy. There are plenty of events for which outstate Minnesotans need to make the outstate-to-metro trek and spend money in the Cities. The gain of a high school prep tournament, however, would be a boon to an outstate city&8217;s economy.

Let the Minnesota State High School League hold outstate tourneys.