There are only a handful of Hoop It Up events planned for '19, but Garnett is promising a '20 tourhoop it up
Hoop It Up, the seminal 3-on-3 grass roots hoops tour, has been purchased by former NBAer Kevin Garnett. Along with the 30-year-old Hoop It Up brand and trademark, Garnett purchased the Kick It 3-on-3 soccer tournament tour from Colorado-based Grand Sports Management. Those two tours will be housed within a new event management company founded by Garnett called Big Ticket Sports. There are only a handful of Hoop It Up events planned for '19, but Garnett is promising a '20 tour that will “converge basketball, music, video gaming and urban lifestyle to create a unique sports live and digital experience” in around 20 markets. Former NLL Commissioner George Daniel is now the CEO of Big Ticket Sports. “Kevin adds credibility and pop culture sensibilities to this iconic brand and will hopefully make Hoop It Up global again,” Daniel said. In its mid-'90s heyday, Hoop It Up had more than 45 U.S. events, along with an additional 19 stops in Canada and Europe. NBC owned around 25%, supporting that network’s run as the NBA’s broadcaster from '90-'02. The Hoop It Up Finals were televised on NBC and the tour was supported by many NBA corporate sponsors. A long list of industry bold names worked at Hoop It Up, including Rockets CEO Tad Brown, PGA of America CCO Jeff Price, Hawks Minority Owner Jesse Itzler and Scout Sports & Entertainment Exec VP & Managing Partner Michael Neuman. Hoop It Up’s success spawned the creation of similar grass-roots tours for the AVP, NFL and other properties. “Ice Cube has brought 3-on-3 basketball to NBA arenas with the Big3, so this is a great opportunity to revive a brand when three-on-three is coming back with some relevancy,” said Gemini Sports Group President Rob Yowell, who worked for Hoop It Up from '92-98. Founders Streetball Partners sold Hoop It Up to Host Communications, which operated for around a decade. Host sold the property in '04 to Colorado-based even firm Crestline Sports. It has subsequently been under the aegis of others, including Lagardere, North American Sports Group, and Grand Sports Management.
