3/10/2010

By MICHAEL STRAND

Salina Journal

OK, so maybe women's junior college basketball isn't a big deal for you, and ditto with 4A high school games.

But thanks to those two tournaments, cash registers across Salina will be a little more full over the next couple of weeks.

Combined, the two tournaments pump at least $1.3 million into Salina's economy, said Tiffany Benien, sports and events manager for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Bicentennial Center has hosted both tournaments for years; the Salina Juco Basketball Blast since 1997, and the boys' and girls' state 4A tournament for even longer -- since 1980.

The high school tournament opens with girls' play at 3 p.m. today, and the first round of the boys' tournament is Thursday. The women's junior college tournament runs March 16 to 20.

The profile of who attends the two tournaments is different, Benien said, but each ends up bringing roughly the same amount of money into town.

The high school tournament includes eight boys' teams and eight girls' teams, and because the teams are all from Kansas -- and given Salina's central location -- "we get way more fans for that one, though many of them don't stay overnight," Benien said.

Fans who stay overnight obviously spend considerably more money, Benien said, but "we also see the revenues from shopping, from dining, and from visiting our attractions."

From all over the U.S.

Overall, Benien estimated, the high-school tournament brings $700,000 into the community.

In contrast, the 16 teams for the women's junior college tournament come from all over the United States.

And many of the teams arrive a day or two before the tournament and end up staying in local motels for as long as a week. The chamber estimates that tournament brings about $600,000 into Salina.

"There's not as many fans, but there are recruiting coaches -- about 150 coaches -- some from NCAA Division I schools," Benien said.

In addition to the recruiters, Benien said, the women's junior-college tournament is also heavily covered by reporters from the towns those schools are in -- Benien said about 50 reporters is typical.

Over the four days of the tournament, 12,000 people typically pass through the Bicentennial Center's gates -- and if Cloud County Community College is in the tournament, that jumps to 17,000.

It's a good boost

It's a nice boost to the Country Inn and Suites, says sales director Nate McClanahan, who said the hotel typically hosts three or four junior college teams.

As of Tuesday afternoon, McClanahan said he is sold out on Tuesday and has just five vacancies for next Wednesday and nine for Monday.

"Between each team, they bring in a lot of room revenue," McClanahan said. "It's not only the lodging industry, it also has a significant impact on restaurants."

"March is definitely a sports month," he said. "It definitely helps us finish out our quarter, and we can count on them every year."

n Reporter Mike Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.

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