St. Joseph Sports Commission announces Holiday Hoops and Winter Showcase events
By Calvin Silvers
The community of St. Joseph has been known to recreate quality game day experiences for area student-athletes and coaches, and the St. Joseph Sports Commission is keeping that true as they announced the field and matchups for the 3rd Annual St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame Holiday Hoops Classic and the addition of the Inaugural New Year’s Winter High School Basketball Showcase.
Looking at the Holiday Hoops Classic will be played at the Civic Arena in downtown St. Joseph on December 19-21, 2024. The field will have seven Buchanan County high schools along with other area teams of interest competing in a boys/girls doubleheader classic style format.
The teams participating in the Holiday Hoops Classic include Lafayette, Columbia Battle, Oak Park, Bishop LeBlond, North Andrew, Savannah, Macon, Benton, Park Hill South, St. Joseph Christian, DeKalb, North Platte, Platte Valley, Mid-Buchanan, Maysville, Central, KC KIPP and Chillicothe.
“In the spirit of fit, niche, and game day environment, teams that have participated in Holiday Hoops in our first two years have been treated to a quality experience in a big-time arena-style atmosphere,” Executive Director of the St. Joseph Sports Commission Brett Esely said. “This event, which continues to grow spurred the creation of our Winter Showcase just after the New Year which has been built as a two-game classic format that we hope to do exclusively in that model in the coming years.”
As for the Winter Basketball Showcase, will also be played at the Civic Arena in downtown St. Joseph on January 3-4, 2025. The Winter Showcase features boys and girls games featuring three local high schools playing in a two-game classic format against teams regionally and statewide along with other single-game match-ups of interest.
14 games will be contested over two days as the Friday slate opens with LeBlond taking on Lafayette County, Benton playing Riverview Gardens from the St. Louis area, the Central girls playing West Plains from southern Missouri, and the boys taking on Hogan Prep.
Day two opens with North Platte facing off against East Atchison followed by LeBlond and Lathrop. Central takes on Riverview Gardens in the penultimate doubleheader with the Benton girls playing West Plains and the Cardinal boys taking on Class 4 Final Four participant KC Central.
“Scheduling is extremely difficult, a lot of dots to connect, but we are extremely proud of this quality field we have put together for both of these marquee events and are thankful to all involved for having interest in making it work,” Esely said.
Ticket information will be released in late fall in which all sales will be facilitated online and through the Civic Arena Box Office.
