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October 26, 2023

CT Convention Center to host youth basketball tournament this weekend

PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED The agenda for the State Bond Commission's meeting on Friday includes $1.4 million for repairs to the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, such as security upgrades, smoke detection repairs and more. 
By Andrew Larson

This weekend, the Connecticut Convention Center will be transformed into a dozen basketball courts for a two-day youth basketball tournament.

Called the Vertical Hoops Fall Championships, the event is expected to bring more than 1,500 male and female youth basketball players from across the Northeast to the downtown Hartford venue on Saturday and Sunday.

More than 130 teams of boys and girls, ages 8 to 18, will compete in about 400 games. More than 3,000 visitors are expected, including tournament officials, college scouts and coaches, fans, and spectators.

The Connecticut Convention Center, at 100 Columbus Blvd., contains 140,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom and 25,000 square feet of meeting space, with an adjacent parking garage.

It will be the venue’s first time hosting a basketball tournament, according to the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, which helped organize the event. 

The event is expected to generate more than $830,000 in revenue as visitors stay in area hotels, dine in local restaurants, shop in the region and enjoy nearby attractions, said Robert Murdock, president of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, known as CTMEETINGS.

The games run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Spectator admission is $35 at the door for a weekend-long bracelet. 
 
Vertical Hoops is a basketball company that offers tournaments, camps and showcases throughout New England. It recently held tournaments in Boston, Woodbridge and New Haven. In January, it will hold the Vertical Hoops Winter Championships at Mohegan Sun.

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