Bustling Hoop City Classic schedule creates challenges for event staff, organizers

Dec. 29—MITCHELL — With 30 games in three days — all at the Corn Palace — the 2023 Hoop City Classic is busier than ever.

The event, which started in 2010 with seven total games across two days, features 10 games per day this season for the first time, with teams from five states, including South Dakota, Minnesota, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming, in attendance.

Hosted entirely in Mitchell for the first time since 2014, the Hoop City Classic is a celebrated basketball showcase for the venue, the city and event organizers, but it's not without its logistical challenges.

Other comparable basketball events traditionally hosted by the Corn Palace, such as the DWU Classic, Hanson Classic or Sacred Hoops Classic, feature six or eight, sometimes nine, games in a day, but 10 games on three consecutive days is uncharted territory.

Last year, 10 games were played in Mitchell on the opening day of the event for the first time, but one took place in the armory while the main court was hosting another contest. This year, all 10 games each day are slated for the main court. Additionally, 14 junior varsity games are set to occupy the Palace armory over the three-day event, and an accompanying youth tournament is hosted on the Dakota Wesleyan University campus on Friday and Saturday.

"It's a lot of basketball, but it's all gone well so far," Corn Palace director Doug Greenway said of Thursday's events.

Hoop City Classic event director Ernie Kuyper concurred, calling Thursday a pleasant surprise with smooth sailing, noting that the schedule was maintained while teams were still afforded 10-15 minutes of warmups prior to every game.

To accommodate the extra games, the normal start time of 9 a.m. for the first game was bumped up to 8 a.m., with games slated to begin every 90 minutes throughout the day and the final game set for 9:30 p.m. If everything stays on schedule, as it did on Thursday, the end time is approximately 11 p.m., though contests prolonged by fouls or overtime periods could cause a domino effect of delays.

However, the night doesn't end with the final horn after nearly 15 consecutive hours of basketball for the mix of workers and volunteers, including ticket-takers, concessions, scorer's table workers, game officials and maintenance.

According to Greenway and Corn Palace maintenance supervisor Jeff Hanson, it takes approximately 16 to 18 working hours to clean the Corn Palace facilities and locker rooms completely. In recent years, the second day of the Hoop City Classic has taken place in Sioux Falls, allowing more time for the Corn Palace staff to perform a deep clean of the facilities. But with full-time staff already working long days during the event, overnight cleaning has to be undertaken by a different crew.

Enlisting part-time help — some from other city entities such as city hall and the library — a crew of four to six people will clean between midnight and 4 a.m. At that time, some full-time employees will return to make sure the Corn Palace is set for the day, which begins with a basketball practice at 6:30 a.m. prior to the start of the Hoop City Classic games.

Greenway pointed to the Dakota Oyate Challenge — which relocated to Mitchell from Huron and is set to be contested at the Corn Palace in January — as a similar event in size, with eight games per day for three straight days. However, while two fewer games might not appear to be a major difference, it allows the full-time staff to finish cleaning by midnight.

"It doesn't seem crazy, but (adding games) extends the evening and shortens the mornings," Greenway explained. "With those extra hours, we run into overtime and need some extra help. We can't stretch our full-time help that far with that long of a day."

Hanson offered that the most comparable event from a short overnight turnaround perspective is the Shrine Circus, which often stretches late into the evening hours. Unlike the Hoop City Classic, though, it doesn't resume again right away the following morning.

"It's not a bad thing; it's great for Mitchell," Greenway added of the Hoop City Classic. "It just puts strain on all of the workers."

Greenway noted that Thursday's slate drew a "very nice crowd," with 1,800 people through the door and $7,000 in concessions by 7:30 p.m., at which point there were still two games to play. He expected Friday and Saturday to be even more well-attended, considering the first day's games did not include the Mitchell High School teams.

Traditionally, Greenway and Kuyper set the date for the Hoop City Classic during the first week of the new calendar year. From there, Kuyper builds the schedule and adds games throughout the year.

With growing interest, Kuyper tacked on a 10th game to each day of this year's Hoop City Classic, which Greenway said he became aware of and started planning for in September.

"We received so much interest and want to involve as many people as we can; that's why we do this," Kuyper said. "It has its challenges, but we're fortunate that we're able to do it.

"Everyone communicates across the board," he added. "Doug and the Corn Palace staff have been amazing with making this happen. Getting everyone on board is why this works out."

As for what next year and future editions of the Hoop City Classic will hold, both parties have their own ideas at this stage. Greenway leans toward a nine-game per day cap, while Kuyper hopes to see this year's schedule return if the interest in participating remains high.

"We would prefer nine games per day for three days in a row," Greenway said. "... This event is a great get for Mitchell, and to have all three days of it here, we hope it continues."

"I want to see it stay at wherever the demand is at," Kuyper said of the schedule. "If 30 games are needed, let's make 30 games happen."