Masters Basketball Tournament Makes Oregon Debut

Willamalane Center for Sports and Recreation in Springfield will host the Pacific Northwest Masters Basketball Tournament from July 31 - August 2, 2014. This will be the first and only premier competitive Masters Hoops tournament on the West Coast with five brackets of age divisions for players ages 50 - 70+.

Individuals and teams can register to play for a reduced rate through June 20. Registration closes on July 15 for all teams and individuals. Players without a team can sign up to be a "free agent" and be placed on a team.

The tournament will be the first event of the Lifetime Fitness Project (LFP), a newly formed non-profit organization based out of Eugene. The LFP intends to promote youth sports, clinics, and scholarships, as well as support older athletes that are still competing. 

It is expected to bring 400 people to the area, with an expected economic impact of nearly $300,000, as participants and fans of the tournament will be kept busy with more than just basketball. Activities such as trips to local breweries and wineries and tours of the area guarantee a memorable trip for attendees and a profitable weekend for local businesses.

"This tournament is being organized by one of the local players from the FIMBA Pan-American Masters Basketball Tournament that we hosted in 2010, so we are now reaping additional benefits from that event," says Janis Ross, Executive Director for the Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Commission. "We hope that this year's Masters Tournament will be such a success that they will want to return to the Eugene-Springfield area every summer."

"The Pacific Northwest Masters Tournament was conceived to fill the void of no tournaments on the West Coast. We have invited teams from all over the world to play, as well as Indian Nations across America. Our goal is to grow into a major annual event attracting the highest quality hoops on the Masters circuit," says Arthur Hering, Executive Director for the tournament and the LFP.

Eugene, Cascades & Coast Sports Commission, under the corporate umbrella of Travel Lane County, markets and promotes the region as a destination for sports, while providing resources designed to help events and planners succeed. For more information, go to www.EugeneCascadesCoastSports.org.

Travel Lane County is a private, nonprofit association dedicated to economic development through visitor spending. In 2012 visitors to Lane County generated more than $555 million in spending for Lane County’s economy. Travel Lane County is funded by room tax paid by visitors using area lodging facilities and campgrounds.