Hoopfest tourney draws 150,000

OK, couch potatoes. You can venture out again. The Spokane area’s whirlwind weekend of sporting events – including the wildly popular Hoopfest – is over.

The world’s largest three-on-three basketball tournament ended earlier for some than others.

“We’re just too old,” said Jason Oberg, 23, sitting in the downtown Red Robin bar with his teammates about 3 p.m. Sunday. The men lost their last game at 1:30 p.m. and headed to the bar to find comfort in their friend, Mary. Bloody Mary.

Almost 24,000 players participated in the 15th-annual Hoopfest, and an estimated 150,000 people swarmed downtown Spokane for the two-day event. They ate pizza, bought T-shirts and stood in a line 30 deep for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Denny Christenson, 61, waited while his wife did her part for the local economy by buying a mocha at River Park Square.

“Hoopfest really shows off Spokane,” he said. “The streets were clean this morning.”

Site manager Randy Smith said he was glad to see people lingering at Hoopfest late into Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve never seen this many people downtown,” he said. “That’s great. That’s what we want.”

For players, though, Hoopfest is about only one thing. Basketball.

Participants dived for balls on unforgiving pavement, grunted as they reached for rebounds and celebrated when they made perfect swooshes.

While players kept a close eye on scores, volunteer Shirley Blake tracked injuries on a white board at medical tent number three.

“There are a lot of scrapes this year,” she said. “A lot of people take it seriously.”

In total, there were 1,227 injuries over the weekend, compared with 1,050 last year, said volunteer Rick Klingler, of Premera Blue Cross.

“We totally hit the mother lode,” he said. “I think it has to do with the weather and people’s level of preparedness.”

The National Weather Service said that Sunday’s temperature reached a high of 81 at 4:48 p.m., just as the men’s elite teams were warming up for the championship games.

During a midday game, a player on the team Spokane by Owner grimaced and gripped his knee after taking a tough fall into the crowd. It was difficult to say whether the drops falling off his face were sweat or tears.

Also taking the games seriously were some of the coaches and parents.

Police officers stood behind one coach, who wore a hat with a cross embroidered in it, after players from an opposing high-school-level team complained that he was being aggressive and calling them wimps.

Court marshal George Hietala said the man and other spectators got into a shoving match after a game.

“They act like this is the NBA (National Basketball Association),” he said. “This is for a T-shirt.”

As volunteer Michelle Trudeau geared up to monitor another game, she said, “I love basketball, I just don’t love the parents. They need to keep their mouths shut and let the kids play.”

The few negative scenes were outweighed by hundreds of supportive and smiling faces, including that of parent Fred Sharp, 39, of Hayden, Idaho. Sharp comforted his 9-year-old son after the boy lost his last game. He said attending Hoopfest with his three children is part of parenthood.

“When you have kids, you just do whatever they want to do,” Sharp said.

Newman Lake resident Doug Leckner, 42, lost two games Saturday but was tickled to play against a former Boston Red Sox pitcher.

He said it’s easy to interact with a variety of people when you’re playing against them and sitting near them for two days.

“People get to know each other more at Hoopfest (than at other community events),” Leckner said.

Butte resident Matt Boyle, 14, and his Backyard Ballaz team drove to Spokane for Hoopfest the day after finishing basketball camp. Still, Matt’s mind wasn’t entirely on the game. “The best part of Hoopfest is seeing all the girls,” he said.

Also concluding Sunday was the Ironman Triathlon in Coeur d’Alene. The Far West Regional Soccer Championships ended Saturday. Ironman awards ceremonies will continue today and Tuesday, though.

Combined, the three sporting events were expected to pump more than $15 million into the regional economy.

Christenson, a 30-year Spokane resident, said he knows of four people who moved to Spokane after attending events like these.

After a long weekend downtown, though, his mind was on the final buzzer.

“We go home and sleep. That’s our Hoopfest tradition,” Christenson said.