Tournaments are a big deal for the local economy. Not only do they help pay for facilities, but they also bring hotel, restaurant, and retail guests to the area.
Parks and Rec Executive Director Chuck Eddington said, “This past summer, we brought in $5.2 million with registration fees, hotel, and restaurant visits from our guests.”
Todd Curry, the Director of Be Elite Sports, said the basketball tournament, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 11, will feature third through sixth-grade travel teams and a seventh and eighth-grade division (which will be school teams) of boys and girls. “We will have more than 40 teams here,” Curry said. “Teams will come from three states: South Haven, Mississippi, Missouri, and Arkansas. This is our building block group for the summer tournaments. The South Haven team loved it here and wanted to come back.”
“Each team will play at least three games with the winners playing again,” Eddington said. All the games will be played at Creekside.
Curry said the Be Elite teams wanted to return to Harrison because of the ease of working with Chuck, Mayor Jerry Jackson, and Matt Bell. Be Elite will host eight events this year, and four will be held in Harrison. Two volleyball tournaments will be held in February, and travel basketball teams will be held in April. The Fall/Winter Jamboree tournaments mix school and travel teams.”
“This is why we value partnerships with organizations who can help us bring tournaments to Harrison. We’ve broken every record of the City Advertising Tourist Promotion Commission (CATPC) and look forward to helping the downtown businesses with new families to shop and spend money in our community,” Eddington said.
Locally, there are 25 Be Elite basketball travel teams and 10 volleyball teams. Visit BeEliteSports.org for additional information.
"The public is welcome to watch the tournament games at Creekside; However, please be aware that a $5 gate fee will be charged by Be Elite. Tournament guests can use the Main Entrance or the Courts Building doors to enter. Access to the tournament does not include access to use the other parts of the Creekside facility. The tournament hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11.
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