State Bball Tourneys: Lockwood’s Gain is Bozeman’s Loss
Lockwood is going to have a chance to show off their impressive new high school, and Billings is going to land the business. But I gotta say, I feel bad for our friends in Bozeman who are now losing out on some business, and some great basketball as well.
From The Big Sky Business Journal Hot Sheet: Lockwood to Host State Tournament
Lockwood School will host the statewide Class C Girls and Boys Basketball Tournament in their new gymnasium on March 10 - 13. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held at MSU in Bozeman, but because of concerns about COVID -19 the college bowed out. That weekend is also the weekend of the statewide Class B boys and girls basketball tournament scheduled at MetraPark. Also, this weekend, Feb. 19-20, Lockwood will be hosting the first ever statewide all class girls’ wrestling tournament.
This is a big deal for the City of Billings, with Lockwood right across the river this means two state basketball tournaments will basically be taking place in the Billings area on the same weekend. This also means that more families from Montana will be renting hotel rooms, shopping at local retail outlets, and eating at local restaurants. It also means that those same great Class C families from small-town Montana, will not be spending money in Bozeman, hotels, restaurants, and businesses.
Billings and Yellowstone County have lifted most of the COVID-19 restrictions, while Bozeman and Gallatin County have kept their restrictions in place. Here's what I find so absurd: any Kardashian from California can fly into the Gallatin Valley, but sorry small-town Montana, you can't come to town for Class C basketball. (No offense to the Kardashians, of course).