SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) -- Now that the dust has settled from Friday's announcement of the NAIA choosing Sioux Falls to host its Division II Men's Basketball Tournament, some may be wondering what this event means for a community that already has at least 5 other major championship events on the March calendar.
KELO.com news turned to Tim Smith, the longtime Play-by-Play voice of Dakota Wesleyan University athletics in Mitchell to answer that question, and the first thing he talked about was an economic impact that could reach $16 million over one week.
For starters, expect 32 college basketball teams, coaches, and school officials to spend at least 4 nights in a Sioux Falls hotel. "The majority of teams will come in on Sunday before the tournament starts on Wednesday. Some will come on Monday. There's a huge banquet for the teams on Tuesday, then play begins at 8am on Wednesday." The first three days of the tournament feature eight games, played one after the other. It's not uncommon for the last game of the day to tip after 10pm and still be going at 11:30, according to Smith.
The teams won't start leaving Sioux Falls until Thursday. "On Wednesday night they have a Parade of Champions. So even if you play Wednesday morning and get beat out, you still come back that night to be honored."
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Sioux City has been the longtime host of the NAIA's DII Women's Tournament, which they say brings in $16 Million annually. Smith says it's not unreasonable to think the same could happen in Sioux Falls. "Every venue is a little bit different, but that's realistic because of the time [the teams] will spend there. Even after Thursday there will still be 16 teams hanging around for another day, then eight, you're talking a whole week there's going to be a lot of people gathered in Sioux Falls."
The city of Mitchell also put in a bid to host the event; and while things looked promising with the appeal of the historic Corn Palace as host venue and NAIA school in town to help pull it all off, it wasn't enough to outshine what Sioux Falls had to offer. "It was probably a little bit of a longshot for Mitchell. It was exciting because between city government, our local sports authority, Dakota Wesleyan, the Corn Palace, they all put it [the bid] together in a big hurry." That bid was received well by the NAIA officials, Smith said there were no red flags and everyone seemed happy with the venue and community support. "It was probably the size of the city. You're going to have those 32 teams in town for four or five days, and we all know there's a little more to do in Sioux Falls with your leisure time than there is in Mitchell. That's probably what it came down to."
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But no matter who came in as the new host of the event, Smith says they will have a pretty high bar to reach as far as hospitality goes. His DWU Tiger men have played in several tournaments recently, and have been blown away by the support they've received at the former host venue starting before the bus pulls into town. "Each team would get a phone call from an individual, it might be a business owner, an insurance guy, whatever. Right away they would ask the question 'what do you need from us?'" From there, that person would set up a practice schedule, tell them where to go or what attractions to see in town, even give them an idea of the best places to eat in town. In return, the teams would adopt that individual as a member for the week, letting them sit on the bench and be in the locker room during games.
"All 32 teams had someone from the community that gave them a call right after they found out they were in, and that person would stay with the team basically all the while they were there." Smith adds that you couldn't go far in Branson without seeing an updated tournament bracket hanging in a window or near a menu board, or a resident that would become a surrogate fan of a far-flung school just because of its mascot. "It was a great deal and the community really bought into it."
All that means is a community that's already knows a thing or two about hosting big-time basketball tournaments may need to take its game up another notch.