SPOKANE, Wash – You could mark the season by the sound of basketballs, filling the streets in downtown Spokane. The last weekend of June nearly every year since 1990, Spokane Hoopfest has taken over the city.
The story of how it happened is as scrappy as the city itself.
In the late 1980s, Spokane Hoopfest says two groups came together with different goals. One group wanted to raise money for Special Olympics, the other wanted to continue a tradition of playing 3on3 they enjoyed in the Midwest.
They came together and the rest is Spokane history.
Rick Betts and Jerry Schmidt are the godfathers of Hoopfest, convincing the city to shut down busy downtown streets and fill them instead with basketball hoops.
Fast forward 35 years and the city still allows key parts of the city to transform into basketball mecca.
With the exception of a cancelation during COVID, Hoopfest has been held every year, bringing in an estimated 6,000 teams and 250,000 fans.
Teams come from all over the country and players range from young kids to families to parasport athletes.
Hoopfest estimates it brings in about $40 million into the Spokane economy, through hotel room nights to shopping and dining. Hoopfest also gives back, donating more than $1.6 million to Special Olympics, youth sports and other programs.
Hoopfest is such a big deal, the Spokane city council voted in 2021 to nickname the city Hooptown USA.
Hoopfest also maintains community basketball courts in the area.
Spokane Hoopfest has also expanded into indoor basketball and now operates Hooptown Youth League for kids from kindergarten through eighth grade.
You can read more about the history and legacy of Hoopfest at this link.
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