Vancouver will host two new men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments beginning in November '17. Each tournament will feature eight teams and will be played Thanksgiving week at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Local tourism authorities made the announcement yesterday in conjunction with bd Global, Brooks Downing’s Kentucky-based event management firm. Downing’s team will manage the event. "Sporting events play an important role in stimulating tourism demand," said Tourism Vancouver President & CEO Ty Speer. "We see this as a huge opportunity for developing tourism in Vancouver." bd Global runs basketball tournaments, doubleheaders and one-off games throughout the college basketball season. Downing worked with Vancouver officials David Munro, a former Vancouver Grizzlies exec, and Howard Kelsey, an ex-Team Canada star, to hatch the idea (Michael Smith, Staff Writer).
SIMON SAYS: In Vancouver, Jose Colorado notes the event has been "dubbed the Vancouver Showcase." The tournament is "set to target teams from the 'Power Five' conferences." Simon Fraser Univ. is currently the "only Canadian university recognized as an NCAA program." Former SFU AD Milton Richards said that although the school competes in D-II, the program has "been 'very involved' in discussions of participating in the tournament." There are "precedents" for D-II teams "hosting high-profile tournaments," including the Maui Invitational, which is hosted by Chaminade Univ., and the Great Alaska Shootout, which also features D-II hosts (Vancouver PROVINCE, 12/17). Munro said that he "knew a tournament of this size could work after helping to organize a men's NCAA game between Gonzaga and Hawaii" in '11 that attracted "more than 9,500 fans to Rogers Arena." He said, "We've been talking about this for a long time and it's just fantastic to see it come to fruition" (CP, 12/16).
