Hundreds of Youth Basketball Team in St. Cloud for Quarry Classic

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Hundreds of youth basketball players from across the state will gather in St. Cloud this weekend.

The 34th Annual Quarry Classic will take place Saturday and Sunday. The event is put on by the St. Cloud Area Youth Basketball Association.

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SCAYBA President Tony Dingmann says after experimenting last year with boys teams playing on one day and girls on the other, they decided to return to the old format.

We received a lot of feedback from teams traveling to St. Cloud saying this was there weekend to hang out as a team in the hotel. So they wanted to have the tournament return to where boys and girls games are played on both days.

Dingmann says they will have over 170 teams playing games at Tech, Apollo and Cathedral High Schools, as well as at St. Ben's.

He says if whether you're a casual basketball fan or just coming to watch a family member, neighbor, or friend you're welcomed to do so at no charge.

A lot of associations, including ourselves, have moved to a model where we charge more for the team entry fee and that then covers the ticket fees for anyone who wants to come watch their team play.

Mike Johnson is the Sports & Special Events Manager for Visit Greater St. Cloud. He says with families coming from North Dakota, Wisconsin and even the Twin Cities, this weekend provides a big boost for St. Cloud's economy.

A lot of them are going to staying over night in the area hotels, dining in our restaurants, visiting the mall or other areas of entertainment between games. So this should bring a great impact to our city as a whole.

Johnson says a majority of the local hotels are full for this week. He says they are also starting to see tournaments fill up for this summer.

The Quarry Classic will begin at 8:00 a.m. both days.