June basketball draws many to Hillsboro
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
Basketball tournaments? In June?
Indeed.
If you saw players in jerseys and hoop sneakers pouring forth from vans this past weekend, your eyes didn't deceive you: Hundreds of players inundated Marion County this past weekend for the Mid-America Youth Basketball tournament.
And they brought people — coaches, parents, friends — that needed food to eat, beverages to drink, gas for their cars. It all added up to a big economic boost for the City of Hillsboro and beyond.
Take Country Haven Inn, for example. Now Hillsboro's sole motel, Country Haven was booked solid, mostly thanks to guests of a local wedding, according to manager Sonya Fisher.
But that didn't stop MAYB-ers from calling and asking for rooms. Fisher counted at least 13 inquiries that had to be turned away on Friday alone. One person last year even booked a year in advance, and when he couldn't show up his friend took the room.
"It's nice to be full," Fisher said.
But all those teenage boys needed more than just a place to lay their heads at night — they needed grub.
Some of them got that at Subway, the sandwich shop just a few steps away from the Tabor College gym that was hopping all weekend.
"We were really busy," said manager Cindy Maynard.
Friday and Saturday were the busiest days for the restaurant — although the sales figures were slightly lower than last year's MAYB tournament, she said. Still, Maynard scheduled one extra worker per shift to keep up with the demand.
Pizza Hut also kept busy dishing out food. The busy time started Thursday and didn't let up until Sunday, according to manager Jared Hefley.
The restaurant had lots of extra business, prompting managers to schedule more help. The most customers came in on Friday, he said.
Over in Goessel, where two gyms were in use all weekend, the Mid Kansas Foods grocery store did well since it's the only eatery in town, said manager Keith Banman.
Extra customers stocked up on sandwiches and drinks, he said.
Having the ninth- and tenth-grade bracket also boosted business, since the younger players often bring their families with them — unlike the older eleventh- and twelfth-grade teams, who usually travel by themselves, Banman said.
