A basketball festival dubbed "Hooplandia" is set for the Big E fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts, this weekend. The inaugural event has been on hold for a few years because of the pandemic.
Organizers had planned to start Hooplandia in 2020 but COVID-19 got in the way. Three years later the event, which is a three-on-three basketball tournament, is set to take place.
Eastern States Exposition president Gene Cassidy said it's been worth the wait.
"It feels good to play a part in a return to normalcy," he said.
The teams are comprised of a wide array of athletes, from young children to elite college players, to adults trying to remember their glory days. There’s also divisions slated for wheelchair athletes, special Olympians and a division for first responders, active military members and veterans.
Cassidy said he's happy with the initial turnout.
"We'll expect about 1,200 athletics playing basketball over two days," he said.
The Eastern States Exposition and the Basketball Hall of Fame are the key organizers of the event. The bulk of the games will take place outdoors on courts set up all around the Big E grounds, with some of the action taking place at the court at the hall of fame.
Cassidy said he hopes the event will only grow from here and will rival a similar tournament in Washington State, which serves as the inspiration for Hooplandia. Cassidy said during a visit to the Spokane area, he saw a sign touting the city as “Hooptown USA”. He said that name should belong to Springfield where basketball was invented and that a similar concept could be popular “at the other end of I-90.”
As far as the economic impact on the region, Cassidy said it’s too soon to tell what the event might generate, but he hopes as Hooplandia grows, so will the boost the western Massachusetts tourism sector.
Hooplandia will kick off Friday with a community event featuring a basketball skills competition and other activities. The games will tip off on Saturday and continue on Sunday.
