St. Joseph Sports Commission ready for year-end events
By Kyle Schmidt
St. Joseph residents have plenty of events at the Civic Arena to look forward to as the year closes out.
Brett Esely, director of development at the St. Joseph Sports Commission said the the stage is set for an event at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2.
“If you are a junkie and like hoops, you will not find Division II women’s basketball any better than you’ll find here in St. Joseph the next two weekends,” Esely said.
The action starts with the Division II CCA Women’s Basketball Tip-off Classic. This is a two-day, eight-game event that will feature four MIAA teams. The last two tip-off events have included the season’s eventual national champion.
With recent upgrades at the arena, fans can look forward to an enhanced experience.
“If you were even here in March, you’re going to see a completely different look,” Esely said. “It’s amazing what some painting and some graphics do to the building.”
New lighting is in place outside of the venue as well.
Basketball will continue the following weekend with the Women’s Basketball Central Region Showcase. It includes two local teams, Missouri Western State University and Northwest Missouri State.
Starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 8 and 9, there will be four games each day with the return of reigning Division II champions Minnesota State-Mankato.
Volleyball action will kick off at noon on Thursday, Nov. 21, with the MIAA championship. The arena has hosted this event for the last two years. Seven matches will be played and a champion will be crowned.
“If you have never been out to see high-level championship volleyball live,” Esely said. “It is very entertaining action.”
The popular Bill Snyder Classic will return to St. Joseph in the Civic Arena. Division I women’s hoops will feature Kansas St. and Middle Tennessee at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14.
“K-State is preseason ranked number 13. The opponent we are bringing in this year is Middle Tennessee which may not be a household name to fans around this area,” Esely said. “But when you start looking at MT you will notice they have tremendous women’s basketball history.”
The year closes out with the high school Holiday Hoops tournament. The third annual event kicks off at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 19. Thirty-two games will be played throughout the weekend.
All ticket information can be found on the St. Joseph Sports Commission website at stjomosports.com.
