The votes have been counted, and “Next Up” is Salina’s favorite sculpture.

“Next Up”, located at the corner of Santa Fe and Walnut, is the 2014 Sculpture Tour Salina People’s Choice Award winner. The sculpture by James Haire from Fort Collins, Colorado, depicts a young man with a tennis racket sitting on a stone bench, who is  very anxious to be the “Next Up” to play.

“Next Up” was selected by popular vote from among the 26 pieces in the exhibition in Salina’s downtown Lee District. The $500 third place finisher was “Burrito”, while “Transformer” finished in second place with a prize of $1,000. A record number of votes, about 1,200, were cast this year.

The City of Salina will now purchase “Next Up”. The sculpture, valued at $20,000, will be sold to the city for $15,000. As part of the program, the artist agrees to sell the people’s choice sculpture for a price to not exceed $15,000.

Previous People’s Choice Award winners include:

• 2011 – “Watch Dog” by Louise Peterson; On display in Oakdale Park Sculpture Garden
• 2012 – “Sweet Kisses” by Marianne Caroselli; On display in Oakdale Park Sculpture Garden
•  2013 – “Farmer” by Lawrence Starck; To go on display in Campbell Plaza, Downtown

“Next Up”, and the other 25 sculptures, will remain on display in Downtown Salina through April 1st. They will then come down to make way for 26 new sculptures that will be unveiled on May 9th.

Once it is taken down, “Next Up” will be moved to an area near the northwest corner of the Oakdale Park Tennis Courts, where it will go on permanent display.