SPOKANE, Wash. — Sunday marks the last day for our beloved Spokane Hoopfest as thousands of teams and fans spend those remaining hours in downtown Spokane.
For 34 years, Spokane Hoopfest has made its way to the beautiful downtown area, and the scope of how big the event is is not just with the crowds, but also with the city's economy.
"I played in probably 20 Hoopfests over 20 years," Eric Cheadle said. "This team, we've been going on almost 12 years together."
Cheadle has lived in Spokane all his life and looks forward to what Hoopfest has to offer for him and his friends.
"I have [had] the same close friend group since 2nd grade, so we've been playing together that long," Cheadle said. "We get together, have a BBQ before Hoopfest every year and spend the weekend down here."
Cheadle is one of many as thousands of teams and their fans got to see each three-on-three team try and make their way through the tournament, which has grown significantly from last year.
"When you add 500 teams, that's 2000ish players and all their friends and families that come down, so it's definitely bigger crowds and we've been pretty lucky this year," Riley Stockton, executive director of Hoopfest, said.
Stockton is excited to see the turnout, saying 250,000 people are estimated to have come out for Hoopfest this year.
"We have a nice little 15 to 20 percent growth each year and this year is no different," Stockton said.
This is with more than 400 courts across all of downtown Spokane, crowds of people playing in the tournament or off on the side just for fun, all leading to an expected boost in the City's economy.
"It's really hard to see the money part of it yet, but just the crowds feel bigger," Stockton said.
It's feeling bigger with some new faces and the familiar ones like Cheadle.
"It's an excuse to get together and compete and have fun with each other again," Cheadle said.
Despite this year's growth, according to MultiCare, there was actually one less injury they treated compared to last year. Here is a breakdown of the reported injuries from this year's Hoopfest activities:
- Fractures 29
- Achilles ruptures 21
- Knee (acl/pcl/mcl) 24
- Dislocation 23
- Concussion 3
- Dehydration 10
- Strain/sprain 189
- Lacerations 33
- Wounds 296
- Blisters 18
- Tape 538
Total 1,184
Stockton said they will have exact numbers as far as how much money Hoopfest has brought into the City, but their first priority once it's done is making sure the City is set to return to its normal look by Monday, July 1.
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