Metairie, La. - A new USA Wrestling regional training center has been officially opened in Metairie, La., a suburb of New Orleans. The USA Wrestling South Regional Training Center will be home to the Louisiana-based Gator Wrestling Club as well as many wrestlers in the southern states.    A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held outside of the training center on Nov. 8 and hundreds of wrestling fans and stars were on hand, including Olympic champions John Smith, Kurt Angle, Kenny Monday, Kendall Cross and Tom Brands.    The training center is funded and operated by USA Wrestling First Vice President and Louisiana State Chairperson James Ravannack, who also funds the Gator Wrestling Club.     "This has been a dream of mine for many years and that dream has finally come true," said Ravannack, who wrestled at nearby Rummels High School in Metairie.    "There has been a lot of work and a lot of effort by a variety of people on this project. This training center is a tribute to those people and hopefully it will serve as an Olympic breeding ground for the future," he added.    Cross, who captured his gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. felt that the training center will make an immediate impact.    "There is no doubt in my mind that this training center will house Olympians in the very near future. This is a great addition to the growing strength of amateur wrestling in the southern states," Cross stated.    The training center is 12,000 square feet. The wrestling room holds three and one half mats and it includes a state-of-the-art 40 feet by 40 feet weight room, the first of its kind in the South.    The idea for the training center began with the emergence of several wrestling stars from the South, including 2000 Olympic freestyle gold medalist Brandon Slay, who originates from Amarillo, Texas, 2000 U.S. Freestyle Olympic Team Trials runner-up Kerry Boumans, who is from Lafayette, La. and 2001 NCAA runner-up and 2002 Pan-American champion Daniel Cormier, also from Lafayette, La. Cormier was a three-time high school state champion and recently won the Sunkist Kids/ASU International Open in freestyle.    "This is an impressive facility," stated 2002 U.S. World Freestyle Team member Cael Sanderson. "It is much bigger than a lot of training facilities and the weight room is better than a lot of colleges have. Hopefully this will help bolster the sport of wrestling in this region of the United States."    Angle, also a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and currently a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar, felt that this training center can help to curb the idea that amateur wrestling is a dying sport.    Amateur wrestling is the greatest thing I have ever been a part of," Angle said. "It is special when someone like Mr. Ravannack is able to give back to the sport in this kind of way. It says something about the people involved with this sport and how they are always trying to continue to help it grow. I can't think of another sport that has that kind of loyalty."    Angle signed autographs and took pictures with the many fans on hand, but not everyone showed up to see Kurt Angle's television character.    "This is the first time I have ever seen Kurt do an appearance where the people didn't come to see him in his character," said WWE Producer Rob Cingiuna. "This is a thrill for us to see Kurt in his natural environment where he can be himself and people don't think of him as a WWE superstar, but as an Olympic hero."    The ribbon-cutting is part of the weekend's festivities leading up to the Kurt Angle Classic, part of the "Show of Strength", a competition that will include body building, power lifting, arm wrestling and a strong man contest. Included will be a hall with over 300 exhibits of products, supplements and other resources useful in athletics.    "I am excited and honored to be hosting this event along with USA Wrestling," stated Angle. "This is my way of giving back to the sport of wrestling. It should be an incredible atmosphere and putting the top wrestlers in the world against each other should help the sport of wrestling as well."    There will be three sessions of competition. In session one, a Louisiana high school all-star dual meet will take place on Friday afternoon.    Sessions two and three will pit the top U.S. stars in all three Olympic styles (men's freestyle, men's Greco-Roman, women's freestyle) battling against some of the top international competitors in the world.     "USA Wrestling is excited to host the first-ever Kurt Angle Classic," stated Pete Isais, USA Wrestling Director of National Events. "It is a great way for our athletes to earn more money this season. This event has been further enhanced due to the fact that our men's freestyle World Team was unable to compete at the 2002 World Championships, so this will may be the only time some of these athletes get to see a competitor of this caliber for a while."    Wrestling will take place in an entertaining atmosphere. Matches will be enhanced with music, up-close interviews and cutting-edge production techniques that are certain to make this one of the most fan-friendly and stunning amateur wrestling events ever.    Log on to TheMat.com for complete coverage of the Kurt Angle Classic.