Springfield will finally host its long-awaited celebration of basketball, the Hooplandia festival, after nearly three years of delays.
Hosted by the Eastern State Exposition and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the three-day event will run from June 23 to 25 and will host the largest annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament on the East Coast.
“Over the course of many years, we hope and expect this to be the ultimate celebration of basketball in New England,” said Hooplandia event producer Mark Rivers.
The festival tips off with the Hooptacular on Friday at the Eastern State Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield, a jam-packed schedule of skills competitions, open-play time on the courts, a Jr. Celtics Academy Clinic and an opening ceremony featuring former UConn women’s basketball national champion, and WNBA All-Star, Rebecca Lobo.
On Saturday, over a thousand players from across New England will compete in more than 70 blacktop courts at the ESE fairgrounds. Players of all ages and playing abilities will compete in separate divisions, including girls, boys, women, men, high school elite, college elite, pro-am, wheelchair, Wounded Warrior, Special Olympians, veterans, first responders and more.
Additional games will be played on Sunday at the Hall of Fame’s Court of Dreams before the select division playoffs will decide the first champions of Hooplandia.
The festival will also feature guest appearances from UConn men’s basketball national champions Alex Karaban and Donovan Clingan on Saturday, as well as Aubrey Griffin and Caroline Ducharme of the UConn women’s basketball team on Sunday.
Lucky The Mascot and the Boston Celtics Dunk Team will also host two shows on Saturday.
“This is basketball heaven in New England for three summer days,” Rivers said.
The inspiration for Hooplandia came from Hoopfest, an annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament held in Spokane, Washington. With a legacy dating back over 30 years, Hoopfest has become part of the culture and identity of Northwest basketball, with hundreds of thousands from across the country traveling to Spokane for the event.
“I’ve played in (Hoopfest). I’ve attended that event. I’ve seen Kevin Durant play in that event as a registered team member,” Rivers said. “I’ve seen (how a basketball tournament) can evolve into something really meaningful.
It’s our first year, so we’re happy to have a few hundred teams … over the course of time, it will be double, triple, quadruple that,” Rivers continued. “All the organizations involved are in it for the long haul. I do think this will actually grow into … the summer basketball event of the region.”