SPOKANE, Wash. — The hoops are ready, and the stage will soon be set for the return of Hoopfest.
"Tonight at 7 o'clock, we'll get the streets and build the 360-some courts on the streets tonight so when all the players and fans come in the morning, their courts are ready to go," Hoopfest volunteer Scott Jones said.
Transforming 45 city blocks into 353 basketball courts in a matter of hours.
"If we start putting that first court down at seven, we're oftentimes done by 11, 11:30," Jones said. "It's kind of amazing."
It's the magic of Hoopfest you may not see unless you're one of the 75 site team volunteers like Jones.
"It's kinda like an orchestra," Jones said. "We have people putting tape down, we have forklift guys putting baskets out. It's magic, it's really fun to see."
Organizers say about 17,000 people will play, requiring around 600 game balls with 2,200 total on hand just in case. It's also a lot shirts and states represented, 50 to be exact.
"Last I heard, we had someone from every state playing," Jones said.
And at least four countries.
"We just had a team from France check in," Jones said. "They just flew in from France to play. It's just like 'wow.'"
It's one of the only things we can't quantify, how much fun this weekend will be.
"I mean, that's what Hoopfest draws is a fun mix of people from all over the world," Jones said.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.