The 2014 Capital City Holiday Hoops Showcase brings more than athletes to Jefferson City - it also brings added dollars to the community.
The annual basketball showcase kicks off this weekend with the Missouri National Guard Shootout on Saturday and continues next weekend with the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic and the State Farm Holiday Hoops Invitational.
But outside of the tournaments themselves, the showcase features a number of entertainment options, including performances by cheerleaders and dancers from local schools, a slam dunk contest, youth basketball clinic and 3-point contest between the girls and boys.
"Last year, our girls just clocked the boys," said Jefferson City activities director Mark Caballero.
Caballero said Special Olympics athletes will play basketball games during halftimes and the head coaches of involved teams do a skit to entertain attendees. Last year, he said, they performed "YMCA" as The Village People.
And with multiple teams, plus families, friends and fans, coming to Jefferson City, comes dollars.
"They're all coming in to our community," Caballero said. "That has a direct impact."
Diane Gillespie, executive director of the Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it's estimated that the holiday tournaments bring in about $131,256 in direct spending. That would include money spent on lodging, food and beverages, Gillespie said, as well as a small amount for any miscellaneous spending.
Gillespie specified the direct spending estimate is based on the number of athletes and does not take into account those who travel to attend the tournaments.
Caballero said there has been some type of Holiday Hoops tournament, at least for boys, for 50 years. In the early 1990s, he said, the girls tournament was added.
It also was around that time the event became anchored at the end of December, in part, as a way to generate additional hotel room stays in the area.
Steve Duncan said the holiday tournament had always been held either in late December or early January, but in the early 1990s, in conversations with hoteliers, staff and board members of the CVB discovered the slowest time for hotels was the week between Christmas and New Year's.
"We were hoping to bring teams and fans into Jefferson City during that week," Duncan said.
The tournament format created, which is still largely followed, was four in-state teams and four out-of-state teams, he said.
Duncan said though the tournament may not generate as many room nights as they initially hoped, it has had a positive economic impact on the area and brought Jefferson City to the attention of many who may opt to visit again later.
"Every year we get two or three comments back from teams or from parents or grandparents as to how much they enjoyed their time in Jefferson City and that they have plans to come back maybe during the summer," Duncan said. "It is an opportunity to showcase the city. ... It's good for the city."
Any time additional visitors come to the area, he said, additional dollars are generated for the city and county through sales taxes. Duncan said the economic benefit also depends on the participating teams. Teams from more affluent areas are more likely to bring additional spectators than those from inner cities, he said.